


What Have We Found Ourselves In

by TimeSorceror



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Canon-Typical Violence, Fantasizing, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Masturbation, Meet-Cute, Past Character Death, Post-Coital Cuddling, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:21:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 61,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28746117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimeSorceror/pseuds/TimeSorceror
Summary: If fate is a cruel mistress, then her companion, fortune, is her kinder other half.Often, as some souls are laid waste to by the carelessness of fate, fortune does its best to find that they are given another chance. Sometimes as many as it takes. When an opportunity presents itself for fortune to bestow its favor upon Caleb Widogast and Mollymauk Tealeaf, two such fate-slighted souls, it decides to take it. And it hopes that this time, perhaps fate can also find it within herself to be kind.
Relationships: Mollymauk Tealeaf/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 8
Kudos: 64
Collections: Widomauk Winter Gift Exchange 2021





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [type_here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/type_here/gifts).



> One of my prompts for this year's Widomauk Winter Gift Exchange was this: _Astral: in the vastness of the universe, I was lucky to find you._
> 
> I'm a sucker for soulmate AUs, so this one grabbed my attention immediately and wouldn't let go. Originally when I started typing up the outline to this story, I thought I could get it done in maybe a single chapter or two; perhaps three if I was feeling frisky enough to put some naughty bits in. As usual, more story was apparently required. You wanted some sappy soulmates with a side of consecution? You got it, friend. Please enjoy this love letter to you, and to all of my friends in the Widomauk Discord.

_You and I are reaching out over all our fear and all our doubt  
Numbers, signs, and family lines and I will have your hand in mine_

A tiny kenku in a bright green dress chirped happily as she very carefully lugged a large book onto the Cobalt Soul Archive’s check out desk. It was near to three quarters her size and probably about half as heavy, but she looked determined to take it with her. The redheaded human behind the desk wearing a dark blue turtleneck, one Caleb Widogast as his name tag proclaimed him to be, startled a bit at the sound, though his lips quickly stretched into a warm smile at the sight of his feathered guest.

“Why hello Kiri,” Caleb greeted his tiny friend. “Are you looking to check this book out today?”

Kiri nodded and said in a cheerful, familiar voice, “Yes, I’m very sweet!”

Caleb chuckled as he held out a hand for her library card, which was swiftly produced. He scanned the card, and then the book, putting it into the demagnetizer and stamping the return date on the internal slip before placing both the book and the card back on the counter.

“Are you sure you don’t need help carrying this? It looks awfully heavy, _spatz_.” Caleb frowned a little, concerned.

Kiri wiggled in place for a few moments before she parroted back to him in his voice, “...need help.” And then, in an older woman’s voice that he _thought_ was perhaps her mother's, Kiri politely added a soft, "Please?” Caleb looked behind him to see if there was anyone nearby, and as it happened, a dark-skinned woman in cobalt robes with her hair tied back to reveal an undercut came walking out of the break room and was heading in his direction.

“I got you, Widogast,” the woman assured him as he stood up and took Kiri’s book, temporarily relinquishing the chair to his fellow librarian.

“Thank you, Beauregard, I shouldn’t be but more than a minute.” She grunted at him and jerked her head in the direction of the main doors, but he had already turned and was leading the sweet kenku girl away. Caleb let Kiri bring him to a table where her adoptive gnomish mother was sitting with a little girl and a laptop, showing the child something that had her mesmerized. The woman looked up when Caleb and Kiri approached, and she took the book from Caleb when he offered it to her.

“Another heavy tome again I see?” The woman muttered, tucking the book into her bag and smiling fondly at Kiri, “Well, at least I cannot say she doesn’t like to read. Thank you for helping her; did she use her manners?” Caleb nodded. “She was a perfect angel, Mrs. Schuster, as always. Return dates are, of course, two weeks after checkout, though I have no doubt she’ll be done with it in but a few days.” Mrs. Schuster laughed and helped her daughter put away the laptop they had been using.

“It’s for school, I think,” she told him. “She seems to think it’s funny to do her book report on the types of birds in the local area.”

The idea of such a thing brought a smile to Caleb’s face.

“She’s a clever little girl. Well, you have a good day now, I should be getting back to work.” They exchanged a few more pleasantries before finally parting, Kiri waving back at him as they were leaving. Caleb watched until the automatic doors closed behind them, and afterward, he returned to behind the checkout counter where Beauregard was waiting for him. She was leaning up against the desk, her back to the demagnetizer, sipping a cup of coffee.

Upon noticing his approach, she jerked her chin at him in acknowledgment.

“‘Sup Caleb.” Beauregard grunted, her lips peeled back into a toothy grin. “You got a minute to share a cup of shitty coffee?”

Caleb glanced down at his computer and the list of emails he still had to send. They could wait for a moment longer, and there were a few other librarians on duty at the other check-out counter that could attend to any patrons that needed help while he was away. Caleb picked up his Soltryce University tumbler from its usual place on the desk, checking its contents briefly to see how much was still inside.

“Of course,” he told her fondly, “Anything for a friend.” Beauregard snorted.

“Sheesh, you make it sound like you’re promising to cover my six in a firefight, not gossip by the water cooler with a cup of shit coffee.” Caleb chuckled as they entered the break room. “You will have to forgive me for such formal speech patterns, _freund_. Common was not my first language.” He crossed the room to empty his drink into the sink and make himself a fresh cup of coffee.

“Yeah, I get that," Beauregard agreed. "I’ve been trying to have conversations with Archivist Zeenoth in Elvish, to practice it some more, and I’m pretty sure I forgot like a super important formal conjugation and I’m _absolutely_ sure I insulted his mother on accident… or something. It was awful–you should’ve seen the look he gave me.”

Caleb turned around and raised an eyebrow at her, slowly stirring in two of the tiny cups of vanilla creamer from the basket next to the machine.

“Oh _ja_? You mean the look he always gives you?” Caleb teased, ducking to avoid what he was certain had to be a poorly thrown punch on purpose. Beauregard just shook her head at him and sipped her coffee some more. “Ok, dickhead. Enough–I’ve got some important shit to tell you!” Caleb hummed as he sipped the coffee. He winced a bit, as it wasn’t the best as far as hours old coffee went, and he leaned against the counter while he waited for her to continue.

“So, like, I met this girl. Fuck, no. This _woman_.”

“And she is what, your soulmate, this woman?” Caleb asked, smiling into his coffee. That smile faltered when he caught sight of Beauregard's stunned expression; suddenly silent and slack-jawed.

It was also at that point Caleb noticed that she was wearing… sleeves. Long ones, at least. Beauregard never wore her sleeved vestments unless forced to for official fundraisers, guest visitations of government representatives, etc. To see her wearing them now, without being held under such duress? It was quite unusual for Caleb’s normally rebellious coworker.

“Actually,” Beauregard began haltingly, as though processing her words as they were being said, “yeah, I think I did. Find my soulmate, that is.”

She rolled up her left sleeve to reveal a beautiful soulmark going up the entire length of her arm. “Do you see this shit?” She waved at the mark, a spectacular rendering of runic lettering that spelled out the word ‘Orphanmaker’ amongst a spillage of greenery and blooming flowers. “I met this woman at a Xhorhasian food truck about a block down from here like, two days ago maybe. We got to talking, hit it off pretty well. It was wild how right it felt just to be near her.”

“So how did this come to be?” Caleb asked, moving closer for a better look, his coffee all but forgotten. Beauregard looked down at her arm, smiling fondly at what Caleb guessed was the memory of this woman. “I somehow didn’t screw things up and asked her out for drinks,” Beauregard continued. “We had a few at the Gentleman’s Bar near my place, but the last bus had gone ages ago and we were pretty smashed. So I offered to let her crash on my couch.”

Caleb quirked an eyebrow in interest and looked up to catch her gaze, chuckling a bit. “I am guessing she did not end up sleeping on the couch, huh?”

The flush that filled his friend’s face was a sight to behold, and it spoke volumes that she hadn’t even tried to joke punch him for insinuating something dirty or untoward.

“Well, yeah,” she admitted sheepishly, rubbing at the back of her neck with her soulmarked arm. “But we didn’t have sex. I know, I know, it doesn’t sound like me but honestly! We were really tired and just sort of ended up there and fell asleep!”

“Truly? That is…” Caleb trailed off, his gaze coming back to the soulmark, “that is quite a remarkable thing, to find your soulmate. Though, I would bet it would be an awkward moment to find that out in the morning. How did _that_ go?” Beauregard rolled her sleeve back down and shrugged.

“I suppose it could’ve gone worse? I kind of… woke up with her like half on top of me, and my arm was wrapped around her with the mark on it, plain as day.” Her gaze turned wistful, and Caleb held back any words he might’ve had ready to tease her further. She looked rather at peace, which was a rarity for his exuberant friend, who continued, “I’m actually going to see her again today and have lunch. I hope… I hope that our first meeting wasn’t like, a fluke or something. Can you even screw things up... when it’s your soulmate?”

Caleb shrugged. Having never met one of his own, it really wasn’t his purview.

“I cannot say for certain, as I am not an expert on the subject,” he offered, “however, as your friend, I want you to know that I believe in you. I am sure that as long as you work at things as equals, you will be fine.” He stepped forward, pausing for half a second before he shook his head and gave her a _slightly_ awkward hug. Beauregard froze up for a bit since Caleb was not known for his physical displays of affection. However, the embrace turned from stilted to genuine once she relaxed and returned it before she broke away and sighed with relief.

“Thanks, Widogast. I uh, I guess I’ll let you get back to your emails–I just had to _tell_ somebody about this before I exploded, you know? I’m–I’m kind of excited to see her again actually. Just so I really know it’s real.”

Caleb took a long dreg of his shitty coffee and winced again. It absolutely wasn’t getting any better with age, but that was fine. “ _Ja_ , I know,” he responded. “You take care and have fun on your date. Also maybe tell Jester about this before she finds out on her own or you’ll never hear the end of it.” Beauregard groaned again.

“Ugh, you’re right, I _should_ do that. Maybe, like, I don’t know. Later. This evening later, or something.” Caleb listened to her grumble a bit more before he polished off the rest of his coffee, grabbed a water from the fridge, and left to go finish more of those emails.

* * *

About a block away from the library, inside a quiet corner shop filled to the brim with flowers, a lavender tiefling quickly brushed past a shelving unit carrying a winter display of pansies and white violas. He moved over to the shop counter and leaned on it heavily as he wiggled in place, tugging at the sleeves of his fluffy, oversized, bisexual-colored cardigan. His spade-tipped tail flapped about the bottoms of his navy jeans and bright pink fur-lined boots, equally as unable to contain its excitement as the rest of him.

“Yasha!” The tiefling called, slapping his hands on the counter. “You’ve had a soulmate for two whole days and you didn’t _tell_ me?”

Yasha’s mismatched teal and violet eyes looked up from where she had been sitting down a box of camellia sprouts, the white tips of her long dark hair spilling over her shoulders and across the front of her uniform, a black apron over a green overshirt and a long-sleeved white undershirt. She pushed her hair back as she straightened herself and walked around to embrace her friend, who returned the hug with great enthusiasm.

“Sorry Molly," Yasha apologized, "things here at work got a bit busy and, well… I’ve still been trying to get my head around it, truthfully.”

She looked up at the tall firbolg on the other side of the counter who was busy sorting through the shop’s collection of floral tea blends. He had an undercut and long pink hair streaked with white that almost covered up the name tag that read ‘Caduceus Clay’. Caduceus smiled and waved at her with one hand as if to tell her to continue with her friend.

“That’s quite alright dear,” Molly assured her, releasing her from his hold and brushing some dust and pollen from the sleeves of her uniform’s overshirt. “I was only teasing you, you know.” He tilted his head, and the charms dangling from his horns jingled pleasantly as he continued, “But please, do tell me what they’re like, won’t you?”

Yasha laughed and ruffled his curly, plum-colored hair. “Oh, she’s–”

“–A _she_ , is she?” Molly cut in, though he flushed a deep purple and looked away sheepishly when Yasha fixed him with a stern look. She paused a moment more before moving on.

“She’s… well. We’ve really only had the one conversation in person, and maybe two calls over the phone yesterday, so it’s hard to say what she’s really like. I do know that I feel safe with her in a way I haven’t felt with anyone in a long time.” Yasha sighed softly and let go of Molly, sticking her hands into the pockets of her apron. “I didn’t think it was possible to find another, and yet… here we are.”

Molly’s tail snapped once and wavered slightly as he frowned at Yasha in concentration.

“What’s it like? Having a soulmate?” The question hung in the air much like the snowflakes falling softly on the streets outside. “I mean, is it not so different from a good friend? Like you and I?” Yasha considered the tiefling’s questions for a moment as he continued to chatter on.

“I know I’ve asked this question before but I thought since, I don’t know, you’ve had two soulmates now… maybe you could tell me more?”

He sounded so hopeful, and perhaps a little bit desperate. She reached out for him again, knowing the connection would soothe his nerves. Molly was a tactile creature even though she was not, but she’d learned to _be_ tactile, for him. As she predicted, her touch did indeed calm Molly down; grounded him in reality enough for him to get his bearings as his breathing slowed to an even pace. Once she felt he was better, Yasha took her hand back and shoved it into her apron pocket once more.

“I feel that I must be honest with you,” Yasha confided in a low voice, “for I cannot say that either of my two experiences have much in common other than the fact that they both gave me a soulmark after I met them.”

At this, Molly visibly brightened, and Yasha knew at once what would follow next.

“Oh? Where is it? Can I see?” Molly pressed, then paused and leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, “Or is it somewhere that might incur a fee for public indecency if you showed it to me here and now?” He grinned wickedly, flashing her his sharp, pearly canines and purple forked tongue.

Yasha shook her head and sighed fondly. Slowly, she reached up and pulled as much of her hair over one shoulder as she could, and turned around so that Molly could see the soulmark peeking up and over the collar of her shirt.

“By my lady’s light,” he breathed, “that’s a _gorgeous_ mark! It looks almost like the tattoo I had done on my back last year…”

He was right, Yasha knew, from having it described to her on the morning it was discovered, and then when she’d taken a photo of it yesterday morning in her apartment. An all-seeing eye was displayed on the back of her neck, sat square in the center of her shoulder blades, and from that streamed out rays of light, spiraling clouds, and various shifting geometric shapes.

“You _have_ to take me to meet this person, like, _today_ ,” Molly told her insistently as his talons gently traced the visible contour of her mark. “Soulmate or not, as your best friend I really must, you know, give her the once-over for you. That’s a rule!”

“Since when?” Yasha asked, unable to keep the laughter from her voice. Her shoulders shook with the delightful tremors of purest joy at the thought of such a meeting, knowing it would be endlessly entertaining seeing two such near polar opposites interacting. Molly pulled away as she turned around to face him and she went on to say, “Well, if you’re really set on it, do you think you could wait for around for an hour? I texted her this morning and we agreed to have lunch on our break and talk for a bit.”

Molly’s tail tip spun in a little pinwheel as the rest of it slowly waved back and forth like a cat’s. His face brightened and his grin from before had returned in earnest.

“Yes! Absolutely! Promise I just want to meet her and then I’ll get out of your hair or whatever. Where are you meeting?”

“Her place of work,” Yasha answered as she moved back around the counter and began to move some of the winter jasmine bushes from the back to a display in the center of the shop. Molly danced around her as she worked, his body wound up and coiled like a spring. “And where is that?” Molly asked her pointedly.

“At the library just a block away,” she replied as she arranged the displays the way Caduceus had shown her. “Perhaps you can find someone to help you look up more about soulmates while we’re there?” She glanced over at the tiefling, who had such an expression of disdain on his face that it forced a bubble of laughter from her chest. “I know, you say you’re useless with books and paper but that’s what the librarians are for. Someone will be willing to help you out, I’m sure.”

Yasha offered Molly an encouraging smile which perked him up a little and he winked, scrambling to curl up on one of the chairs by the big windows. He pulled out his phone, put in some wireless earbuds, and every so often she could hear him cackling, unable to keep his laughter from spilling out as he took in whatever he was watching.

She hoped that someday, his laughter could bring love and light to whoever the lucky soul was that would be his soulmate, just as it had brought such things to hers.

* * *

Molly looked up at the imposing facade of the Cobalt Soul Archive as he trailed behind Yasha on their way to see her soulmate. It looked about as he expected such a place to look; tall, important, and utterly uninteresting.

Once inside, however, his opinion of it changed drastically.

Children ran across the main floor with parents trying to catch them and quell their happy squeals of delight, while simultaneously older patrons sat in secluded, comfortable corners, reading quietly or listening to gods knew whatever interested them via headphones or specially enchanted devices that Molly knew transmitted the sound directly via a modified Message spell. In between the rest of the chaos, regular patrons and librarians went about their business, and Molly began to wonder if perhaps he just hadn’t ever come looking here because he’d simply chosen not to.

“Molly, this way!” Yasha called to him, and Molly quickly scampered after her, nearly missing a spectacled red dragonborn in the process.

Yasha led him off to a waiting area with several plain tables and chairs that weren’t far from a plush looking couch sandwiched between a handful of restrooms and what looked like a staff break room. Then she pulled out her phone, letting the facial recognition software open it for her as she bit her lip in indecision.

“What are ye waitin’ for, dear?” he asked her gently, putting what he hoped was a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Call her. ‘m sure she’ll be _thrilled_ to hear your voice.”

His gesture must have done enough, because she offered him a quick smile before she opened up her contacts and selected one, pressing the device to her ear before he could see the name on the screen.

A few moments passed as Molly could faintly hear the ringing go through once, twice, and then almost a third time until–

“Oh, um, hi Beau! It’s me… again, um. I’m here.” Yasha bit her lip, but the flush on her cheeks combined with the soft, nervous smile told Molly that despite her nervousness, his friend was happy to hear the voice on the other end of the line. There was a muffled string of sentences from this Beau on the other end, and Yasha laughed.

“Yeah, and I hope it’s okay, but I also brought a friend? He was… very insistent about meeting you, you know. I am sure you have friends who are like that as well.”

Another pause, and some loud grumbling, but Yasha’s smile only grew wider.

“He promised he’d leave us alone once he was done, he just wants to… ah, make sure you’re right for me and everything.” Yasha _giggled_ , and Molly’s heart couldn’t take it, he was just so happy to see his friend in such good spirits. Even when they spent time collecting one of every different blossom they could find at the flower fields during the height of spring and pressing them into her books–not even then had Molly ever managed to draw out so much joy from her.

Was this the power of a soulmate, he wondered? It had to be.

They talked for a bit longer and Molly’s attention began to wander back to the rest of the library, his eyes trailing the colorful posters and information booths telling the public about the library’s various extracurricular functions for both children _and_ adults. Molly sat down in a nearby chair and pulled out his phone to do a quick search to see what was on their website. He clucked his tongue in disappointment when he looked through the performing arts speakers’ list–nothing about dance, that he could see. There was always room for improvement though, so perhaps if there was ever a call for more specialized types of dance, he’d try to keep an eye out.

Molly almost missed the blur of blue and gold as it passed him–so intent was he in learning more about the library’s functions–until a gust of wind caught him square in the face and messed up his carefully coiffed curls, and of course, that wouldn’t do. He looked in the direction that the blur had gone and he felt his eyebrows nearly shoot up into his horns when he caught sight of the woman clinging to Yasha for dear life.

“Oh hey!” Molly barked cheerily, “That’s my charm you’re accosting, darling! Back away for half a tick and let me get a good look at you now!”

The woman peeled away from Yasha and whirled on him, her expression at first furious, and then intensely confused. Molly rather liked Yasha’s soulmate already if she went full tilt with her emotions like that all the time. He gave her a cheeky little wave with one hand, waggling his fingers and grinning at her with his fangs in full force. During this little display, he noticed that his flashy pink and purple scarf had come undone, so he adjusted it with his other hand as he winked at the woman he assumed was Beau.

“Sorry dear,” Molly apologized as he stood and walked over to the dark-skinned woman in cobalt robes. “I’m the friend Yasha mentioned over the phone. Name’s Mollymauk Tealeaf, but my friends call me Molly.” He gave a little bow and offered her a hand for a shake, not letting his grin down for more than a moment.

Gods, he so loved messing with new people.

Behind Beau, Yasha cleared her throat and gingerly touched the other woman’s shoulder. Beau startled a bit and then flushed as Yasha’s quiet laughter filled the space around them with warmth.

“Ah, yes. This is Molly. He’s my best friend and a sometimes terrible person, though don’t let that fool you; he’s a softie.”

Beau snorted, and then looked down her nose at Molly. For a moment, Molly almost wondered if somehow, the cosmos had made a mistake and given Yasha a soulmate who didn’t like tieflings, but then Beau’s lips twitched just ever so slightly and her eyes softened as she tilted her head to really take him in.

“Beauregard Lionett,” she said simply. “Call me Beau. Just Beau. Call me anything else and I’ll drop-kick you into next week, got it?” She reached for Molly’s offered hand and shook it; firmly, but he could tell there was probably some crazy controlled power in that handshake. When Beau let go, Molly chuckled and ran that hand through his hair and around one horn to shake off a bit of nerves.

“Very well, Just Beau,” Molly agreed, testing the waters. He proceeded to receive a swift swipe in response, but it was well telegraphed and he only yelped a little bit when she grazed the edge of his chin. “Hey, hey! Easy with the face! My makeup artist will kill me if I come in next week with a shiner…”

Beau pulled back and squinted at him, clearly suspicious.

“You’ve got a makeup artist?” Beau asked him incredulously. “What the fuck do you _do_ for a living?”

“Let’s say performance art, and leave it at that,” Molly answered with a shrug. “I like to keep people guessing because it’s more fun that way.” He caught Yasha’s gaze and gave her a little half nod. “You’re free to, you know, actually tell her what I do if you want, I won’t stop you, dear.” Then he glanced behind him at the wide expanse of the library and back to Beau and Yasha.

“I suppose I’d best keep my promises and leave you to it,” Molly began, turning to Beau, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do and use protection–”

Beau threw another punch, and while this one actually hit (his shoulder this time) there was only a little bit of actual force behind it. She let him scramble away, cackling, his tail flapping about happily. He cleared his throat and caught Beau’s gaze before continuing with, “I uh, was wondering if you happened to know someone who could help me look something up? I’m kind of useless doing it the old fashioned way.”

He offered her what he hoped was a helpless looking smile. Beau’s eyes shifted up and to his right, and she hummed, satisfied, as she nodded to herself.

“Head straight and then pivot a bit towards your right after you pass the desktop study desks, and just down those rows of books there will be one of our check-out counters. You should find an archivist there, goes by Caleb Widogast. He’s probably still answering emails or whatever but you seem like his kind of pretty, so he’ll likely help you if you ask.” She watched him for a bit as Molly did his best to commit her instructions to memory before he ultimately took out his phone and typed them out in his notes app while she repeated them a second time.

“Alright,” she huffed once he’d typed the last thing in, “you sure you got it all?”

“Yup!” Molly confirmed, winking at her and snickering as she made a face when he did it. “Yasha, just text me when you’re done, maybe? I’ll be around.” He waved at her and then left the two women to their own devices as he sauntered off in search of this Caleb Widogast she’d mentioned.

It took Molly a bit to find the place even with Beau’s rather straightforward directions (he’d never really been good with those if he was honest with himself), but eventually, he rounded a corner, and there it was: the check-out counter.

There were a few archivists there doing work or checking out the books brought to them by the few patrons milling about nearby, but there was one in particular that caught Molly’s eye right away, almost as if he were drawn to them. His feet moved before he could think to tell them to do so, and just like that, Molly’s world tilted on its axis and his breath stole from his lungs when bright blue eyes met his own.

* * *

“... and so, therefore, we require at least 2 more physical copies and 3 more digital licenses of _The Runechild’s Raven_ , and its subsequent sequels, _The Archdruid’s Sorcerer_ and _Rise of the Matron’s Paladin_ to more suitably meet the system’s demand for this particular series.”

Caleb muttered to himself as he typed out the latest request for more copies of a popular alternate historical fiction series which had been solidly booked with hundreds of requests for the past six weeks since the latest book’s release. He had just finished giving it a once over and hit send on the email when something shifted in his peripheral vision that caused him to look up.

At first, all Caleb could see were the red eyes of the lavender tiefling in front of him. Despite the many cups of coffee he’d had that morning, Caleb’s head felt light as though stuffed with cotton, and it took a moment to register that he was being spoken to.

“Ah, so _you_ must be Mister Caleb,” the tiefling purred, their sultry expression clashing a bit with the oversized brightly colored cardigan they wore, though somehow they seemed to make it work for them. They brushed a lock of their plum-colored hair behind one softly pointed ear as they continued, “Your friend said that I might be _your_ kind of pretty but she definitely didn’t say anything about you being handsome…”

Caleb felt his face grow warm and he knew he was blushing, even though he couldn’t quite figure out why. Perhaps it was just the fact that a very pretty person was flirting with him at work of all places.

Was… was he still talking? Caleb cleared his throat.

“I’m, um, I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name… or your pronouns for that matter.” Caleb once again looked the tiefling up and down, still unsure.

“My… my pronouns? Oh! Right, I do kind of have that look about me today, my apologies. The name’s Mollymauk Tealeaf, Molly to my friends, and masculine stuff’s good for today darling, though neutral’s fine too if you’re more comfortable with that.” Mollymauk flashed Caleb a soft little smile that made Caleb’s heart flutter something fierce inside his chest before he managed to cough out a slight chuckle.

“ _Ja_ , and here I thought I was asking to make sure that _you_ were comfortable but very well, _wunderbar_. Were you looking to check out something today Mister Mollymauk or… did you need help looking?”

Mollymauk reached up with one hand and rubbed at the back of his neck while he stuffed the other one into a pocket somewhere on his fluffy cardigan. He definitely seemed to be out of his element just a bit. However, awkwardness was a good look for the tiefling, which was certainly more than Caleb could say of himself.

“Actually, yeah, since I’m here, do you have anything on soulmates?”

Caleb blinked, not expecting that reply.

“Have you just met yours, then?” Caleb asked delicately, knowing such a question was often a sore spot with people who hadn’t. Mollymauk shook his head and answered with a half-hearted little shrug, “Not to my knowledge, I’m afraid. A friend of mine met hers recently though, and I just kind of wanted to know more about them?”

“Ah, I see,” Caleb responded, nodding. “I think I can help walk you through a few ways to search our database for something like that, just give me a minute to…” He trailed off, turning around in his chair. He spotted a fellow archivist who had just finished sorting through the self check-out books that were ready for distribution, an elven man with curly blond hair who was wearing long cobalt robes similar to Beauregard’s.

“Archivist Zeenoth?” Caleb called out, catching the other man’s attention. Zeenoth’s gaze found Caleb as he was getting up from his chair, and then shifted to Mollymauk behind the counter.

“Yes, Archivist Widogast? Do you require my assistance?”

Caleb glanced back at Mollymauk and then gestured with one hand to the tiefling.

“I’m stepping away to help this one get acquainted with our database systems; if anyone happens to need some in-person help and everyone else is busy, would you mind assisting them in my place for a little while? I’m not certain how long I’ll be.”

His fellow Archivist sighed but ultimately nodded and shooed him away to sit at the desk next to Caleb’s on the other side of the demagnetizer.

“Take all the time you need, if you like,” Zeenoth told him honestly, “I don’t have anything terribly pressing going on for the rest of the day.”

Caleb turned back to Mollymauk and stepped through the wooden divider that served as a gate between the patron and archivist areas of the check-out counter. He beckoned with one hand for the tiefling to follow, saying, “This way, Mister Mollymauk.”

The tiefling smiled at him, his tail flicking behind him much like the way Caleb’s cat, Frumpkin, did when he was happy to see Caleb come home or whenever he was about to be fed. It was rather endearing, actually, and something about it put a lightness in Caleb’s heart that he couldn’t quite explain.

“So, Mister Mollymauk,” Caleb began as he led the tiefling to the section where the archive kept sectioned off desktop computers available for public use, “are you looking for something specific about soulmates or just a general kind of explanation of the different types?” Caleb sat down and watched Mollymauk hesitate briefly, but then the tiefling shrugged it off and sprawled into the chair next to Caleb’s.

“Honestly, I didn’t even know there was more than one kind?” Mollymauk laughed, a bit shakily if Caleb was picking up on that correctly. “So I guess a general sort of thing would probably be the most useful, I should think.”

Caleb nodded and directed Mollymauk to log in to the computer’s guest account. He pointed out the password that was laminated onto the desk in front of them.

“In case you think you might be making repeat visits here,” Caleb explained, “these computers all have the same guest account and password for them. The whole computer area is monitored and recorded so I don’t recommend downloading anything you wouldn’t mind a stranger’s child seeing in public, because we’ll know.”

“So no porn then?” Mollymauk teased, chuckling as the log-in went through and the computer booted to life, automatically starting the main browser with the library’s website as the homepage. Caleb snorted and replied in kind, “ _Nein_ , certainly not. Some concessions can be made strictly for research purposes if you happen to check out a laptop for use in one of the private study rooms, though those are also monitored to make sure no one is, ah… _getting up_ to any funny business.”

Mollymauk snickered, seeming to have caught Caleb’s little joke, and the two men shared a conspiratorial smile.

“So I’m guessing all of these also bring up the library’s website when you first log-in?” Mollymauk asked, gesturing to the screen.

Caleb nodded. “ _Ja_ , but that’s just for convenience. You can find the database link under the resource tab at the top there, you see it?” Mollymauk nodded and pulled a smartphone from one of his cardigan’s pockets.

“Do you mind if I write some of this down? My short-term memory can be a bit shite sometimes, so I have to type stuff up a lot.” Mollymauk ducked his head and Caleb could see a flush of shame dusting his lavender cheeks. Caleb hummed and gently pat his shoulder comfortingly.

“I’ve got the opposite problem, actually, and it’s weirdly just as problematic depending on the situation,” Caleb offered, “so don’t you worry about it, we’ll go at your pace.” Mollymauk’s ears twitched in that surprised, curious manner that Frumpkin’s did sometimes, and he relaxed considerably at Caleb’s admission. His eyes softened as he turned his gaze back to what looked like a notes app with many folders full of notes, and the tension in his shoulders faded.

“Heh, thanks,” Mollymauk mumbled, starting a new note and beginning to type. “So if you can access this database from the website, can you do this by phone as well?”

Caleb frowned, taking a moment to think about it.

“I’m not certain about the mobile version, but I know you can do it from a personal computer that isn’t connected to our network, at least for general searches like what we’re doing now. So, are you ready to proceed with the next steps?”

Mollymauk nodded, and they continued going down the list. Caleb carefully walked him through the process of how the search function worked, and how to narrow down the results to something manageable to look through.

“So, _ja_ , you probably don’t want anything with fiction in it, so that’s out. Also, do you think you need an audiobook or a digital copy of something as opposed to a printed one?” Caleb asked Mollymauk during this process. Mollymauk shrugged. “I’m not sure? Digital sounds cool, though. Can you like, search for stuff in the whole thing like you can with a website?”

Caleb made a so-so motion with his hand and replied, “It depends on the book, and how the digital file was made. Some of them will allow you to search the whole book, while others are more limited to doing it chapter by chapter or page by page, in which case you might still need to use the index to help you, but _ja_ , they can sort of do that, some of them.”

“Cool,” Mollymauk whispered, his grin showing a flash of pearly white fangs.

It truly warmed Caleb’s heart to see someone discovering the wonders of learning in a way that made sense to them. “It is very cool,” Caleb agreed, unable to keep the smile out of his voice, “but since we don’t know how many copies are available let’s leave those options alone for now and update the filter… ah, there we are, we have about 30 results now, which is manageable.”

They looked through the titles and tossed out a few more than looked to be memoirs from authors about meeting their soulmates, or losing them, or scientific papers on the nature of soulmates and so on until they had about five books left.

“It seems this one here might be a good fit for you,” Caleb pointed out one book in the list. “Click on that? Yes, let’s see… it’s got about 400 pages, so a bit hefty but that’s what indexes are for… ah.” Caleb frowned, stroking his developing stubble as his eyes landed on the available copies listed. Mollymauk’s face was also drawn into a slight scowl, his plush lips pulled forward in a rather adorable looking pout.

“Seems like the only available copy here is a physical one,” Mollymauk grumbled, leaning back in his chair and rubbing at his face with both hands. Caleb hummed and reached for the mouse, giving it a few precise clicks to confirm. He sighed, leaning back in his own chair and crossing his arms over his chest.

“Do you _want_ a digital copy?” Caleb asked Mollymauk honestly. “Because I can help you put in a request for one from another branch if you’d like.”

Mollymauk shook his head and offered Caleb another dismissive shrug.

“No, a physical book is fine. It’ll just take me like five hot minutes to get through it. Is that okay? Like, I can renew the books I have out or something, right?”

Caleb nodded. “ _Ja_ , absolutely. You can renew a book after two weeks up to another two weeks after that, but after a month is usually when we prefer you to bring something back.” Caleb tilted his head to catch Mollymauk’s expression, which once more seemed rather relieved at Caleb’s assurances.

“Oh, that’s perfect, actually!” Mollymauk beamed, then looked back at the title on screen. “So, how do we find it in… all this?”

He gestured to the many thousands of books that surrounded them, and Caleb laughed.

“I can show you that easily enough. Can you bring your notes back up? _Ja_ , now, write down the title, author, shelf location, and the barcode. You might not need all of that information, but it’s useful to have.”

Once that was done, Caleb had Mollymauk log out of the computer for the next patron and showed him each of the sections on the main floor and what was in them, pausing to let Mollymauk tap away furiously in his notes. When Mollymauk asked about what was on the other floors, Caleb answered, “Research materials, scientific journal publications, and other things. Most of what the majority of the public is looking to access we keep readily accessible on the ground floor.”

“Ah, that makes sense,” Mollymauk murmured as his eyes scanned the spines of the books for authors’ names. When he found the book he was looking for, Mollymauk gasped quietly and his tail waved about so much it tapped rather forcefully against the back of Caleb’s legs. Caleb stumbled a bit, which in turn caused Mollymauk to blush and apologize, “Oh, shite, I’m sorry–” but Caleb waved him off.

“ _Nein_ , you’re fine, Mister Mollymauk,” Caleb insisted, grinning like a besotted fool. “I rather enjoy watching people get excited over things like this–it’s cute.”

Mollymauk stared at him, eyes slightly wide and finely plucked brows gently lifted in surprise. Caleb, suddenly realizing what he’d just said felt his face practically _burn_ and he was grateful that the lighting in this particular section was in need of some readjusting. Even though he was sure it would still show up through the growing stubble on his terribly pale cheeks, Caleb cleared his throat and gestured to the book Mollymauk had his fingers on.

“So you, ah, I see you found what you were looking for! Did–did you want to check it out and take it with you today, or…?”

Mollymauk, apparently deciding to take pity on him, laughed quietly and offered Caleb another of those tender smiles that just _did things_ to Caleb’s insides and had his heart doing somersaults in his chest.

“Oh, certainly I think I’ll take this with me, love,” Mollymauk purred, turning on the charm as he plucked the book from the shelf and held it against his chest. “I suppose I’ll be needing some help acquiring a library card as well if you’d be so kind as to help me with that?” Mollymauk’s soft smile morphed into a wry grin, as he batted his eyelashes in Caleb’s direction. Caleb’s head felt light again in a weirdly good way that he had trouble putting words to.

“Yes, I can do that at my desk,” Caleb managed to say as he turned around and beckoned for Mollymauk to follow him once more.

Caleb’s face felt closer to normal again once he was able to sit down and start going through the routine of making a new library card. He had it printed out fairly quickly and he set about assigning a new account to the card, passing it over to Mollymauk so that the tiefling could sign the back of it with the marker that Caleb handed him.

“And that’s it?” Mollymauk remarked as he slid the card back towards Caleb, sounding rather impressed. Caleb chuckled. “Almost, I just want to type up a few more things…” He trailed off into unintelligible muttering as he went through the whole stamping and demagnetizing process of checking out the book and putting it back on the counter before he turned back to his computer. Mollymauk was about to reach for the book, but Caleb held up a hand and clicked on some things a few more times before the printer on the wall behind him flared to life.

Caleb got up and retrieved the paper, showing it to Mollymauk with a smile.

“I printed out some instructions for you on how to finish verifying your account so you can look up things like your check-out history and what holds you have on other books that aren’t available… and also you can renew your book from there as well, which I thought you would appreciate.”

Caleb picked up the book and slid the paper in between the hardcover and the first page. He also swiped up Mollymauk’s library card and held out the whole package to the tiefling with both hands. Mollymauk appeared rather touched by Caleb’s thoughtfulness, and perhaps there was just a touch more purple to the tiefling’s lavender cheeks than had been there before.

“Why thank you, Mister Caleb,” Mollymauk told him shyly, and reached out to take both items at once.

Their fingers brushed as Mollymauk grasped and pulled both objects from Caleb’s hands, a bolt of static passing between the two in an instant. Caleb almost reflexively held onto the book even harder to feel that lavender skin against his for a few moments more, but he was struck with a wave of dizziness that had him reaching for the edge of the table to grasp it tightly.

Mollymauk appeared to gasp when their hands touched, though Caleb couldn’t quite register the sound in his mind. The tiefling recovered rather well, however, and quickly put the card in a wallet he’d procured from… somewhere, and the book went into a navy bag covered in various buttons that Caleb somehow hadn’t noticed Mollymauk was wearing during their entire exchange.

“Are you alright, Mister Caleb?” Mollymauk asked, frowning slightly.

Caleb coughed and cleared his throat, blinking away the rest of whatever that was he’d just experienced.

“ _Ja_ , I am well, Mollymauk,” Caleb assured the tiefling. Mollymauk opened his mouth to presumably ask something else, but then his phone gave a delicate little chime from within his cardigan. It surely must have been someone important, as Mollymauk was quick to put away his wallet and dig out his phone to see who had messaged him.

“Ah, right,” Mollymauk muttered, giving a short little nod and putting the phone away before sheepishly looking back up at Caleb.

“I’ve got to go, my friend’s done having lunch with her soulmate. Thanks for all your help though, it was truly a delight to spend some time with you today, Mr. Caleb.” He winked, and Caleb felt his face flush once more. This time Caleb did not seem to be bothered by it though, and he offered Mollymauk a shy smile in return.

“It was a delight for me as well. Have a wonderful rest of your day.”

Mollymauk grinned gleefully, and the sight of it filled Caleb’s heart with a fierce sort of joy. He winked at Caleb once again before turning on his heel and scampering away, horn charms jingling and his tail waving behind him happily.

Caleb stood there for a moment more before Archivist Zeenoth tapped him on the shoulder and asked if he was alright, which snapped Caleb from his haze. Work went on as usual for the rest of the day, but something warm and wonderful lifted his spirits, curling up in the center of his being. Caleb wasn’t certain if he would ever see Mollymauk again, but deep in his heart of hearts, he desperately hoped that he would just so he could see the tiefling’s soft little smile, meant only for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Molly's cardigan, I was thinking of something that looks like [this](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/351843789643181817/), but with [these colors](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/351843789643181839/). Also, hello fantasy modern library! I based it on one of the big libraries downtown I went to once, but with a little bit of that small suburb library charm.
> 
> Also, keep an eye out for easter eggs! I even hid one in this chapter; see if you can spot them all. ;)
> 
> And as for the books that Caleb is requesting more copies of in his email: Keyleth is absolutely the author and Gilmore is the generous donor whom Caleb is putting the request in to. It's never mentioned, as it was just one of those little details that got cut, but that's absolutely what I was thinking when I wrote it. :)


	2. Chapter 2

_There’s something so familiar in your quiet disposition  
True and kind half-moon eyes, something from my dreams at night_

It was nearly half-past one in the morning when Molly arrived at his apartment that evening following the afternoon spent at the Cobalt Soul Archives. He had gone out drinking with a couple of friends (well, one friend, Fjord, and their designated driver Caduceus, who didn’t drink at all) because going out always sounded like a good time to Molly, especially on a Folsen night. 

Fjord, his dear half-orc friend who Molly had met in physical therapy a few years back, was holding Molly upright while Caduceus fiddled with his keys. 

As Molly was a rather docile drunk when he got tired and wasn’t particularly forthcoming when asked which of his keys would actually open his apartment, it took some time before the firbolg was able to get the door open and usher Molly inside. Fjord was as dead tired as Molly was and only slightly less drunk, therefore he had elected to wait outside in the hall instead of heading back out to start the car.

“Oh, thank ye, love,” Molly slurred happily as Caduceus made sure Molly had some water and medications on his bedside table. Caduceus chuckled, the low rumble of it causing an echoing purr to start up inside Molly’s chest. 

“No need to thank me,” Caduceus insisted. “I also put some more of my special hangover blend in your tea cabinet for you, in case the meds aren’t quite enough.”

Molly nodded sleepily and extricated himself from Caduceus’ embrace with a tired grin.

“Right, right, more thanks to ye,” Molly giggled, taking everything important out of his cardigan’s pockets and putting them on the nightstand next to the bottled water and the pill bottles. “Yer a good friend, Caddy, ye have a safe drive home now.”

Caduceus nodded and said his goodbyes, heading out to collect his soulmate and head back to wherever home was for the two of them. Molly frowned, wondering briefly if he’d ever actually _been_ to their place, but the thought left as soon as it came. So he shrugged and began stripping down to his usual nothing before bed, tossing everything into the hamper sitting in his open door closet.

As soon as the last article of clothing came off, Mollymauk dove straight under his many blankets and immediately proceeded to wrap himself up like a burrito. Content as he was, Mollymauk fell asleep soon after, not noticing the tingling heat in his fingers that began blossoming as he fell deeper and deeper into his slumber.

That heat grew warmer still until suddenly it was stifling.

Molly gasped, reaching up to clutch at his chest as his eyes flew open. 

The sight that greeted him was a large cavern, and the scents of blood and burning flesh filled Molly’s nose. He caught sight of a huge winged creature at the far end of the cavern as it took one long look at a dark-skinned individual with white hair, and finally cried out in terrible, gut-wrenching pain. Silver flames burst from its chest and it fell to the ground, quite dead, as the chamber grew completely silent. Molly’s gaze scanned the room, searching for more danger, but all was still.

The silence was what allowed a soft cry to catch Molly’s attention, strangled though it was. 

_‘Ah, the wizard!’_ Molly thought, and he quickly ran over to douse the flames of the still-burning cultist that their wizard had slain during the fight. Once the fire was reduced to cinders, Molly moved to the ginger-haired man in the shabby coat, and he gave him a quick slap to the face to catch the other man’s attention.

“Oi, hey!” Molly barked, breathing a sigh of relief when the man’s glassy blue eyes brightened with the clarity of awareness. “Back in the game! Time for that later.”

For a moment, the only sound between them was the human’s harsh breathing as he clung to Molly. A damp kind of static hung in the air, and Molly had to resist the urge to gather the poor man into his arms. Instead, Molly offered the human what he hoped was an encouraging smile and he asked, “Ye alright?” 

The wizard–Caleb, he remembered now–blinked at him and nodded faintly.

“Mmm, _ja_ ,” Caleb mumbled, which was all the confirmation Molly needed to give the wizard’s shoulder a sharp tap, gather his face in Molly’s hands, and plant a quick kiss on Caleb’s smudged forehead.

As he pulled away, Molly felt his lips tingle a bit where they’d touched bare skin, and something in his heart gave a soft lurch. Molly felt his tail get away from him a bit as he turned on his heel and walked quickly away, somewhere, _anywhere_ that the wizard wasn’t. Molly didn’t know what that sensation was, but it terrified him.

Hadn’t… hadn’t he felt that before? 

* * *

In the waking world, only a few streets over from Molly’s apartment, Caleb Widogast was inside his own, lying down on his couch under the duvet that he’d snagged from his bed. Frumpkin, his Bengal cat, was curled up in his lap while the two of them watched the latest episode of _My Cat from the Nine Hells_.

He hadn’t yet changed out of the slacks and turtleneck he’d worn to work, but they were soft and well insulated, and Frumpkin was lying on top of him like a little furry furnace. Every cat owner knows that once a cat lays on you, you’re stuck there until they move.

“And you’re not going anywhere fast, are you _katze_?” Caleb mumbled sleepily, scratching Frumpkin between the ears.

Caleb yawned, and he decided right then that perhaps resting his eyes on the couch wasn’t so bad as long as Frumpkin was there to keep him warm. He did at least try to make an attempt to stay awake and watch the episode, but the warmth in his chest that had followed him around all that afternoon had grown since his meeting with Mollymauk. It was such a struggle to keep his eyes open and remain in the present, and Caleb inevitably gave in to the call of deep sleep.

As Caleb slept, other voices not his own filtered in and out of his thoughts. 

He began to become aware of dampness in the air that smelled foul, like blood and mold and the heavy weight of mortal refuse. Caleb took a deep breath of the stuff and opened his eyes to find a blue tiefling in fine, sturdy travel wear standing next to him.

Jester. That was her name. He hadn’t even known her for a week yet but the young woman had wormed her way into his dark heart somehow.

Or… no. Hadn’t he known her for longer than that? No. That was impossible.

“Caleb,” Jester said, clutching the bag of coins that he had just handed her. “Thank you. And... I'm sorry.” She looked truly apologetic, and that expression really _did things_ to Caleb’s insides, twisting them up with guilt. “You know, I just had a really bad day today, that's all it was,” Caleb insisted, feeling relieved when the tightness in her expression softened at his words. “I guess I'm sorry as well,” he added, and Jester smiled.

“Do you need curing, though?” Jester asked him pointedly, squinting up at his dirty face. “Because your eyes _do_ look bloodshot.” Behind her, Jester’s tail flapped around impatiently, twisting the skirts around her legs.

Caleb shook his head, looking away to dead stare at the wall nearest to him.

“No, that was... I'm fine,” he muttered into the collar of his coat, though it was seemingly enough for Jester. She gave him a quick gentle pat on one shoulder and went to help the others pack up the spider they had just killed, as it was quite large and would probably need both Yasha and Jester to carry it out of the sewer.

Caleb watched as the two women picked up the trussed spider and Nott, his little goblin friend, scrambled up the ladder. First, she tried calling for the guards, but when none came she just decided to pick the lock.

Most of the group followed her up the ladder after the spider had been shoved through to the surface. Caleb was about to follow them when the other tiefling in their group, Mollymauk, very quickly pushed Caleb up against a nearby wall and pinned him there. Caleb gasped, feeling a thrill of _something_ warm rush through him that went straight to his cock. It wasn’t the usual lightness that he now associated with Mollymauk’s touch, but neither was it unpleasant. It was quite the opposite, in fact.

“Hey, Caleb,” Mollymauk purred, “I'm fine if you skim something off the top, that's fair, but be clever about it.”

What… on earth was he referring to? The looting? 

“M–Mollymauk,” Caleb huffed, panting as he tried not to lean up into the tiefling and brush his erection against Mollymauk’s hip. “I was picking up that coin for Jester,” Caleb explained, “to–to apologize for earlier…”

Mollymauk didn’t quite hear him right away, continuing with his little tirade by telling Caleb, “Just distribute sixty or seventy percent of what you fi–what? I’m sorry?” Mollymauk blinked at Caleb and stopped speaking, though he didn’t move away from his position pinning Caleb to the sewer wall.

Caleb cleared his throat and repeated, “I took the coin and gave it to Jester, to apologize for my outburst earlier.” Mollymauk shifted closer, and Caleb could feel the heat between them go from simmering to very warm indeed.

“Ah, I see, my apologies” Mollymauk murmured, his eyes flickering in the dim light that surrounded them. He opened his mouth again to say something more, but then his grip shifted where he had Caleb pinned to the wall, causing Caleb to brace his hands against the stonework. This in turn propelled Caleb’s body forward so that the two men were flush against one another, and Caleb was unable to stop the moan that escaped him when his twitching cock pressed against Mollymauk’s thigh.

What surprised him the most was Mollymauk’s answering moan and the pressure of a similarly burgeoning erection close to Caleb’s own. Neither moved for several heartbeats, which felt like an eternity. Caleb could feel Mollymauk’s breath against his face, and he was struck with the desire to chase the faint minty scent of it to its source. 

Caleb licked his lips, and that caught Mollymauk’s attention as those bright, pupilless eyes shifted downwards.

“Mister Caleb,” Mollymauk whispered, his voice rough but steady, “I would very much like to kiss you right now.” Soft laughter spilled from Caleb’s lips as he panted, “What in the hells are you waiting for then?”

Mollymauk pressed against Caleb fully, pushing the wizard further against the wall as the simmering warmth between them suddenly became sweltering. Just as Caleb felt the searing heat of Mollymauk’s lips on his, a voice called out to them from the direction of the ladder, and the two men parted, surprised at the interruption. 

Caleb whimpered in frustration, feeling his face grow warm at the thought of being discovered like this. However, just before anyone had the time to come looking for either of them, the sewer faded into smoke and nothingness around him. 

* * *

Molly blinked, and suddenly the cavern was gone.

The thick ceiling of stone stalactites was replaced with an open, starry sky. There was music and dancing and suddenly Molly found himself stumbling out of a dance with his new tiefling friend, Jester–or was she an old friend? He swore he knew her from somewhere–and he knew that he was quite incredibly drunk. Yet, something dark clung to the center of his being that cut through the haze of the ale’s effects and led Molly to where Caleb was sitting a little ways away by himself.

Caleb did not seem to hear Molly approach, so the tiefling tapped the spade of his tail against the metal rim of a nearby barrel to get his attention. The wizard startled a bit but clung tight to the mug of ale that was still in his hands. Molly chuckled softly.

“Not in the mood fer drinkin’?” Molly asked him gently, and Caleb shrugged, looking back into the depths of his drink. 

“I… I know these people think us heroes,” Caleb began haltingly, “but… I find that I cannot allow myself to… to join in their revelry.” Molly hummed in acknowledgment, and once more tapped the barrel with his tail, this time on the thick wooden lid. “Might I sit with ye then?” Molly asked Caleb, still keeping his voice low. “Just to keep ye company? It… it doesn’t feel right to me to let you be out here on your lonesome, Mister Caleb.” Molly hoped his words didn’t slur too badly; he knew from Yasha that his accent sometimes thickened to the point of unintelligibility when he got drunk enough.

Caleb looked him over, glanced back at his drink, and then took a long draw from it before he tapped the barrel with his hand. “Very well, Mollymauk,” Caleb conceded, and Molly felt a rush of excitement fill him as he nudged the barrel closer so that he was sitting shoulder to shoulder with the wizard.

“Is this alright?” Molly inquired once more, and Caleb merely grunted into his drink. Molly laughed but remained still as he repeated his question. “Just want to make sure you’re okay with me bein’ this close. Some people find me to be… a bit much, sometimes, and I get it.” He gestured to his rainbow-colored coat with all of its various patterned fabrics and stitched in religious symbols and elements of heraldry.

“You are indeed a bit much, _ja_ ,” Caleb agreed, and Molly started to move away, but Caleb reached out to grasp Molly’s leg with one hand. “Yet,” Caleb continued, slowly looking up to meet Molly’s eyes for a moment, “I find that I do not mind it just now.”

Molly felt warmth flood his face and he _knew_ he had to be blushing, though, given his lavender skin and the darkness around them, he doubted the human with his limited night vision could see it. So he pressed up against the wizard, wrapping one arm around Caleb’s thin shoulders.

“Thanks for letting me in, my good wizard,” Mollymauk whispered, unable to keep the smile from his face that insisted that it needed to be there. “Say,” he added, looking around them, “I thought you would have summoned that cat of yours if you were feeling so down. Or… is it that you can’t or something?”

Caleb nodded, taking another drink from his mug. 

“I need incense,” Caleb told him, frowning, and Molly’s ears perked up. “How much incense, exactly? I might have some you can use.” Caleb chuckled, and the sound of even such a small laugh from the wizard had Molly just about over the moon.

“ _Nein_ , I do not think you have quite what I need,” Caleb explained, “as what I require needs to be magically treated, but I appreciate the enthusiasm.”

“Mmm, I’ve heard that before,” Molly quipped out of habit, growing still when he realized who he was talking to. 

Thankfully, Caleb seemed to take his comment in stride and Molly actually earned a _proper_ laugh from the man. “Gods, you don’t know how to turn that off, do you?” Caleb wheezed, wiping tears from his eyes. Molly offered the wizard a half shrug and a sheepish little chuckle. “No, I suppose I don’t, but I’m glad it hasn’t scared you off yet because you look like you need a bit of looking after.”

Caleb looked away and ducked his head. Molly gave a curious little _mrrp_ , still concerned about the man, and the sound caused Caleb to turn back to look at Molly. Suddenly they were face to face; close enough to kiss if Molly was so inclined.

“What was that sound you made just now?” Caleb breathed, seemingly in awe. Molly tilted his head, his ears flicking backward in his confusion.

“What do you mean, this?” Molly repeated the short trill in the back of his throat, and Caleb nodded enthusiastically. “ _Ja_ , that. I knew–I knew that tieflings could purr like cats but I didn’t know you did that too.” Molly laughed and wiggled a hair closer, wrapping his tail around Caleb’s waist and starting up a low rumbling purr deep in his chest. Every so often in between purring, Molly tossed in a trill now that he knew Caleb liked it.

“I know you miss your cat and probably won’t be able to get him back for a little while,” Molly told the wizard after a minute or so of this, “but I think I make for an okay substitute, don’t I?”

Caleb hummed contentedly, and slowly laid his head against Molly’s shoulder, his face pressed into the crook where Molly’s neck met his shoulders. Molly glanced down and thought for a moment that the wizard’s hair nearly matched the color of the flames that lit the night around them.

“ _Ja_ ,” Caleb agreed, almost too quietly for Molly to hear, “ _ja_ , you do, Mister Mollymauk.”

At that moment, Molly’s purring grew even louder. However, with a contented, sleepy wizard in his arms, Molly found that he didn’t care who saw or heard. Not that anyone would, especially with the moons high in the sky and shining bright; the Moonweaver’s blessing keeping their moment of quiet safe and shrouded away from prying eyes.

* * *

Just as quickly as the darkness had fallen, a bright light cut through the shadow. 

Caleb had to lift an arm to shield his eyes, however, when the light faded and he opened them again, Caleb suddenly found himself staring at the ceiling of his apartment. He was panting heavily, his turtleneck damp with sweat, and his slacks tented with a leaking erection.

Gods, that dream… it had felt so _real_. 

“ _Gott in Himmel_ …” Caleb said to the empty air, still panting harshly. 

Caleb’s cock continued to throb in his slacks, begging for attention, though he was reluctant to take himself in hand. He couldn’t believe that he had dreamt such a thing about a _stranger_ that he’d met just yesterday; it was _very_ unlike him, pretty though the stranger had been. Still, all Caleb could think about was the tiefling’s sweet smiles coupled with the warm weight of dream Mollymauk’s body against Caleb’s own, and that tender, all-consuming kiss…

A low whine escaped from Caleb’s throat, and he quickly tossed the duvet to the floor with one hand, undoing the button on his slacks and unzipping his zipper with the other. 

Just that difference in pressure alone was such a relief that it had Caleb gasping, though that was nothing compared to the sensation of his own hand as he untucked himself from his underwear, sensitive as he already was. Caleb also pushed down his slacks and underwear for better access, which certainly helped the angle as he slid further down the couch. He ended up almost flat on his back with his sock-covered feet curled deep into the cushion at the far end.

Caleb thumbed the head of his cock to gather some of the liquid at the tip, not bothering to strangle the breathy cry that stuttered past his lips as he did so. Warmth blossomed in his chest again, and Caleb could swear he felt another hand’s touch against his that was not his own.

A wild fantasy began to take shape in Caleb’s mind, and he could imagine that he heard Mollymauk’s voice crooning to him, the tiefling’s accent thick and dripping with desire. Warm lips breathed hot air against the shell of one ear, teeth gently tugging at the skin.

“ _You’re such a pretty picture like this, you know,_ ” Mollymauk purred,“ _all dripping and needy and hardly an article of clothing’s yet off you…_ ” 

Caleb cried out again, uttering a string of Zemnian curses as his cock twitched in his grasp, dribbling more slickness into his hand. He whined even louder as the Mollymauk in his head chuckled and cooed softly against his ear, “ _Oh... there, there my sweet. Take your pleasure as you please. Go on, stroke yourself. As slow or as fast as you like, just as long as you don’t hold back. I want to hear you._ ”

“ _Ich… Ich möchte gut für dich sein_ ,” Caleb managed in between breaths, and he did as he had been asked. 

Gripping the couch with one hand, Caleb stroked himself slowly at first, relishing in the skittering sparks of arousal that caused his hips to buck upwards, trying to chase his pleasure. Mollymauk hummed with satisfaction in Caleb’s mind, and an all at once familiar and alien sensation of the spade of a tiefling’s tail trailed the insides of Caleb’s thighs, ghosting around where he desperately wanted it the most.

“M–Mollymauk!” Caleb moaned, continuing to use his own pre-cum to ease the slide of his hand as he began to pick up the pace. 

“ _That’s it, dear,_ ” Mollymauk’s voice hissed encouragingly, “ _that’s it–you’re so very good for me indeed, ah…_ ” 

Caleb threw his head back into the couch pillows as he felt the pressure begin to build at the base of his spine. He closed his eyes and imagined Mollymauk above him now, long lavender legs bracketing Caleb’s sides, one hand pressed against the warmth at the center of Caleb’s chest while the other reached between them to aid in Caleb’s efforts.

“ _You can let go now,_ ” Mollymauk told him, leaning up to capture Caleb’s lips with his own. “ _I’ve got you. It’s alright._ ”

Caleb twisted his hand on the next stroke, squeezing gently at the base as he went. Then, when he felt the touch of Molly’s hand against his own, the feeling at the base of his spine throbbed with heat as Caleb cried out, opening his eyes. The fantasy sensations of Mollymauk faded as Caleb’s release splashed sticky wetness all along the front of the navy turtleneck he’d gone to sleep in, though Caleb didn’t seem to mind.

He lay there, panting, as his brain tried to process what exactly had just happened.

His fantasies had never been this… _visceral_ before.

Eventually, Caleb’s heartbeat slowed and his breathing returned to normal, after which he slowly sat up, tucked himself back into his underwear, and sat cross-legged in the center of his couch. He blinked blearily into the sunlight for a few moments more before he ran a hand through his hair–the one that wasn’t still covered with his quickly drying cum. Caleb zipped up his slacks, though he didn’t bother with the button, grabbed the duvet from up off of the floor, and stood. 

Then he headed toward the direction of his bedroom to clean up.

Caleb stopped by his dresser to pull out a long-sleeved cotton shirt and a brown fleece sweater with cute cat patterns all around the sides stitched in white. He also picked up some new socks, underwear, and a pair of dark blue jeans. Turning the pair over in his hands, Caleb wrinkled his nose–these were not his favorite, as they were the form-fitting sort that assumed if you had wide hips then you also had a pair of giraffe legs to match–but they were thick and would keep him warm pretty well.

Trudging into the bathroom, he set the clothes down on top of the toilet and began to pull off his dirty things. When Caleb turned to toss the turtleneck into his hamper at the far end of the room, he saw a flash of something green in the mirror. He frowned and turned to look, and then he felt his jaw go slack.

On Caleb’s wiry chest was of course the usual soft, springy patch of hair that spanned the width of his pectorals that grew shorter and thinner as it morphed into a happy trail underneath his pants. Yet, now a beautiful, delicate-looking peacock sat there as well, curled around the spot where his heart would be. A single blood-red eye stared back out at him from the peacock’s profile as though it could see into his very soul.

His… soul. This was a soulmark, there was no doubt about that. And there was also no doubt about who this mark belonged to, even though Caleb had to have met at least two or three dozen new patrons of the archive yesterday, the peacock so obviously belonged to the tiefling who had called himself Mollymauk.

Now that dream suddenly made a whole lot more sense, though the strangely real visions that followed were… less so.

Immediately, Caleb briefly abandoned changing out of his clothes and he went back out into the living area to search for his phone. Eventually finding it in the pocket of the coat he’d worn to work, and tapped the screen, waking it up and holding it to his face until he saw that it had unlocked. 

“Hey Trinket, call Beauregard,” Caleb said slowly, so the microphone would catch it.

The phone started to ring, and Caleb held it up to his ear to hear it. After a few rings, he heard a click, and Beauregard’s voicemail message on the other end of the line: “Hey, you’ve reached Beau. If this is a work thing, call my work phone and leave a message there. If this isn’t a work thing and I don’t have you in my contacts, leave a name, number, and reason for calling, and maybe I’ll get back to you. Peace!”

Caleb heard a beep on the other end of the call, signaling the end of the message as the automated Trinket told him to leave his message after the beep or press 1.

 _Beep_.

“Hallo, Beauregard? I thought because it was so late in the morning that you might be up already but I suppose not. I ah, have something to say but I think it might be better not to do this through voicemail. Just text me later when you get around to it, _ja_? I’m going out for coffee at the Traveler’s Cafe, though I don’t expect to be there long. _Wir sprechen uns später_. Or, ah… we’ll talk soon.”

Caleb ended the conversation, opening up the phone’s main menu and he began scrolling through his list of contacts in earnest.

He could call Veth about this perhaps, but she was on vacation with her husband and her son at the moment Caleb really didn’t want to interrupt their time together, as both Veth and her husband Yeza had busy jobs, and even though they had a rather generous vacation time set aside, neither used it much.

There was also… his parents, he supposed, but Caleb figured that he should probably wait to actually speak with Mollymauk first before doing that. 

Caleb shivered then, suddenly quite aware that he was standing half-naked in his apartment with the heater only on low, and so he went back to the bathroom to finish changing into clean clothes. After brushing his teeth and running a comb through his hair, he went back out to find Frumpkin sleeping on the middle level of the cat tree near the window, sunning himself.

“ _Guten morgen_ , Frumpkin,” Caleb greeted the cat, who gave a sleepy little _mrrrp_ when Caleb reached out to pet him. “Say, how about you come for a little walk with me, hmm? Just to Jester’s cafe and back for some coffee?” 

Frumpkin’s ears perked up at the word “walk” and he was up quickly after that. Caleb put on his coat as he went to fetch Frumpkin’s harness, helping the cat into it before clipping the leash on as well. The cat watched Caleb with wide, patient eyes as he made sure he had everything–phone, wallet, keys–before they were at last on their way.

A warm cup of Jester’s coffee would certainly help things, Caleb thought to himself as he locked his door. Perhaps by then Beau would see his voicemail and text him back, and then he could decide what his next move would be. 

* * *

Once more, Molly’s surroundings began to blur and shift, and the scenery changed from the secluded outskirts of Alfield’s main square to a small room filled with all of his new traveling companions. The seven of them were crammed into one of the rooms that they had rented for their stay in Zadash, circled around the singular table in the center.

Molly gave a deep sigh of frustration and slapped his hands forcefully on the table, his horn charms jangling with the movement. “My first memory,” he began, “my oldest memory... is dirt in my face, underground.” That was when he felt the energy flow over and through him, leaving his teeth buzzing and his tongue tingling with magic. Molly felt his heartbeat speed up a tick, knowing he was on the verge of panic.

Yasha was eyeing him carefully, inclining her head in his direction. She’d probably noticed his tail thrashing behind him and how it had gone still just now. He knew he could trust her to get him out of here if he had a proper meltdown.

Across the table from Molly sat Caleb. The wizard was frowning, touching his lips gently and then looking up at Molly with faint concern.

“All right, that's not entirely true,” Molly confessed, suddenly realizing that he could no longer tell an outright lie. That energy had to have been a truth spell or something. Had one of the others cast it without his notice? It was definitely possible, given that his perception was kind of shit. He sighed again, clutching at his coat and continuing, “It's a vague memory. I don't really remember it. It's kind of all jumbled. It's what I've been told, about some of it.”

Beau, who was sitting next to Caleb, scowled in Molly’s direction.

“So is that ritual she was rambling about?” Beau asked him pointedly. 

She was probably referring to the blasted Tabaxi, Cree, who had started this whole interrogation mess and had made Molly’s life a living hell. Molly shook his head furiously. “I don’t know,” he spat out, hissing when he could almost literally taste the zing of the truth spell on his tongue.

Fjord, who was sitting next to Beau, reached up to rub a bit behind one of his ears and gestured to Molly. “So before you woke up in the dirt, there was nothing?” Fjord’s smooth drawl seemed to soothe some of Molly’s frayed nerves, which he was grateful for. Molly put his hands back on the table and leaned forward, trying to emphasize the fact with his body language that he just wanted to be left _the fuck alone_.

“There is no before,” Molly told them, his voice raised sharply in irritation. “Whatever happened before is not me. It's not part of anything–!” He threw up his hands and then quickly folded them across his chest, hugging his coat tightly to anchor himself in the present. Out of the corner of his eye, Molly could still see Yasha watching carefully.

The little goblin girl who was sitting next to him, Nott, cleared her throat.

“Like… your life reset somehow?” Nott asked him, somewhat timid, as though she wanted to know more but was clearly trying not to press him too much. She paused, and then also asked, “Or… you just don't remember?” Molly let go of his coat again and turned his body to her fully so that he could answer her directly.

“Some asshole got buried in the dirt,” Molly stated firmly. “Fuck him. I am enjoying what I'm doing; I want nothing to do with that. Anything that came before, I was happy to just leave it be.” He looked back up at the rest of the group, waiting impatiently for the next question. It went on like this for some time, this tense back and forth about how he woke up in the dirt, found the carnival, and that had been his life for the past two years. 

Fjord ran a hand through his hair, once more gesturing with it towards Molly. By now, Molly was too tired to freeze up in anticipation for whatever this next question would be and just kind of grimaced with pain. Out of the corner of Molly’s eye, he could see Caleb’s frown deepening.

“In the years that have gone by,” Fjord asked him, once again soothing Molly’s weariness with the gentle warmth of his words, “Has anyone called you any other names besides Molly, Lucien or–” “–or Nonagon?” Nott piped up from beside Molly, who shook his head.

“Not without me feeding it to them first. I mean, I've conned people. We've all conned people. I've used other names before.”

A soft shock of surprise jolted through Molly’s heart, and his eyes immediately went to the wizard who seemed taken aback by his confession. They locked eyes for a moment and Caleb’s eyes softened with kind understanding.

“No, but did they know you?” Fjord continued, once again talking about Cree. “Did they come up and give you a name?”

For the first time in the conversation, Yasha stepped in for Molly. “This would be the first time that's happened,” she told the rest of the group, catching Molly’s eye as she did so. He nodded to her in gratitude, thankful for the brief respite from the conversation. Still, Molly knew it wouldn’t last long and he jumped back in anyway.

“A lot of this,” Molly grumbled, gesturing with both hands to his clothing, tattoos, jewelry, “was in the hopes that maybe it would never happen. Keep moving, keep quiet. But I'll say this,” and Molly paused to look around the room at what everyone was holding.

“Is there anything sharp around? Anything at all?” Molly asked them. He wanted to show them something to make a point. Fjord chuckled. “In this group? Yeah, there’re plenty of things that’re sharp.” Molly shook his head. “No, no,” he insisted, “Something that's even ridiculous, like something not normal.”

“There are jagged parts of the wooden frame of the bed!” Jester chimed in helpfully.

“Ah, perfect!” Molly muttered, walking over to the bedpost where parts of the wood were sharp and flaking badly. He cut his palm on one of them, and he felt his body pulse with power. Wherever his blood touched on the wood, a bright light began to glow and envelope the jagged material.

Molly showed off the vibrantly glowing wood to the rest of the group, his tail swishing quickly behind him.

“I'll admit,” Molly confessed, “this is new.”

“Yeah, that's a hell of a thing,” Fjord agreed, and Molly laughed bitterly. “You got to see the first time this happened.” 

“Right,” Fjord muttered, nodding faintly.

Caleb moved in his seat, and Molly’s attention shifted to the wizard. Molly met Caleb’s eyes briefly, and Caleb tilted his head as though to ask permission for his next question. So far, Caleb had been among the kindest to him this evening, and Molly felt sure the wizard would continue to be as such, given their recent involvement with one another since that moment in the sewers.

“Yasha,” Caleb started, catching the tall woman’s attention before continuing. “How much of this was under wraps? You knew any of this, in your time in the circus with…?”

Yasha thought for a moment, closing her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest.

“I knew that he woke up and that he didn't know who he was,” she answered Caleb in a soft, steady voice, “but this was the first time where this has happened. Where someone has come to us and recognized him from his past.” Silence followed for a little while after that as the rest of the group processed her words. For a moment, Molly thought the interrogation might be over until Jester gasped, slapped her thighs, and held up a hand with one finger as though she’d just had the greatest idea for a prank.

“Molly,” Jester chirped brightly, “what about… have you ever pooped your pants?”

Molly stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded by such a ridiculous question. Still, he could feel the magic of the truth spell tingling on his lips prompting him for some kind of answer, and he laughed in spite of his weariness.

“Not that I'm–” he started to say, suddenly realizing mid-answer it was not _quite_ true, “–well, no. That's fair, sure. Well, it was worth it every time, at any rate.”

“I'm sorry to belabor this,” Nott timidly spoke up beside him, “but what if you had a good life before this? What if you were famous or rich or had friends or family?” Molly gave the little goblin girl a weary, withering look.

“Okay, here's the thing that you're not catching,” Molly said, putting one hand on his hip and the other pointing at nothing in particular. “That wasn't me. This is mine.” He put his hands on his chest, gestured to his coat, his horn charms, his thigh-high boots. “I don't want anything from that other person anymore. That person is someone else. I don't want anything to do with it. I did not…” Molly sighed deeply once more, struggling somewhat to breathe properly. 

“I did not feel good coming out of that,” he said in a quiet, trembling voice.

Molly tugged at his coat sleeves again to ground himself once more. “It was–gods, ugh. I'm in for a penny, might as well.” Molly shook his head sharply to clear it of the fog that had settled there. “I'm told,” he continued, “although I don't entirely remember this part, that I only said the world empty over and over again for the first week.”

“Empty?” Fjord, Beau, and Nott all queried at once. Molly shrugged.

“I don't know what that means,” he stated simply. “Didn’t know then, don’t know now.” He really didn’t or the spell wouldn’t have let him say it.

Caleb gently drummed his fingers on the table, not quite looking directly at Molly’s face.

“M.T. or empty?” Caleb enunciated the first bit like one would for someone’s initials. It sounded like he was asking for clarification. Molly caught the wizard’s gaze and offered him a sad little smile and another shrug.

“Empty,” Molly clarified. “I really don't know. Barely remember.”

Caleb nodded, biting his lip in thought. Molly watched his eyes move over to Jester, who was bouncing on the bed as though the chaotic energy inside her had nowhere to go. “Jester?” Caleb asked in a steady tone of voice similar to Yasha’s. “I feel your touch on this conversation, is this all accurate?” Molly’s eyes widened at that, and Jester ducked her head guiltily. The whole truth spell thing had been _her_ doing?

“As far as I can tell, yes,” Jester replied quickly, even as she avoided looking at Molly directly. “He did indeed poop his pants.” Caleb chuffed a bit, unable to resist the sweet girl’s charms. “And the rest?” The wizard asked again.

“Oh that too, yes!” Jester confirmed, still looking only looking at Caleb.

Beside Molly, Nott muttered, “Empty…” to herself, as though tasting the word on her tongue. She frowned like it was some bitter-tasting fruit.

“See,” Molly told her, “that sounds terrible. I don't want to remember anything. I don't want anybody else's baggage in my head and I don't want anybody else's problems, thoughts, ideas.” He put his hands to his chest again, tugging at his shirt collar.

“I like this person, who I am… _right now_. This person– this version of me is a good person, a fine person, a happy person.” 

“She kept referencing a book,” Beau pointed out, looking over at Fjord as though he knew what it was, but the half-orc shook his head. “No idea,” he told her seriously. Beau huffed, turning back to stare a hole into the table. “It _sounds_ shifty,” said Molly quietly. Beau looked up at him in disbelief. “What if we could find the book?” she asked, and Molly vehemently shook his head. “Nope. I don't want it,” he snapped, insistent.

Across the way, Caleb shifted in his seat again, and Molly glanced over to hear what the man had to say.

“Well,” Caleb cut in gently, “I will say… I am a little concerned about, you know, loose ends coming to bite you _and_ us in the butt. However–” Molly waved him off, quickly saying, “We all have a few, I assume.”

Still, the wizard was persistent. Caleb stared at Molly, really, fully caught his gaze and held it there for what felt like an eternity. As though it were just the two of the like it had been yesterday when the others had gone to scout out some better shops. The wizard reached up to press a hand to his chest, just above his heart, and Molly could feel his fingers tingling with a strange heat as his body burned with a comforting warmth.

“I believe in second starts, Mister Mollymauk… and that's enough for me.”

Molly felt his heart jolt suddenly and that was when he woke with a start in his bed, quickly throwing an arm over his eyes despite the blackout curtains in front of his bedroom window. He rolled over, reaching for the medications he remembered Caduceus leaving on his nightstand. He popped one in, chasing it down with some of the water that the firbolg had also left there.

It took a minute for the world to stop spinning, and once Molly felt like he wasn’t about to pass out again just by being awake, he slowly sat up to rub the sleep from his eyes. Gods, his dreams had been just… bizarre last night, and why had the cute librarian from yesterday starred in them so prominently?

That last one had been some kind of awful like he’d really been under some kind of truth spell. It had hit a little too close to home, too, since there was a ton of shit about his waking life that he didn’t remember because of a car accident he’d apparently been in a few years back. Fjord had been in that dream too, Molly remembered now–but not Caduceus. Caduceus hadn’t been in any of the dreams actually, which shouldn’t have felt as weird as it did, but the firbolg’s absence from them felt strangely significant in a way Molly couldn’t describe. 

Molly huffed softly through his nose and shrugged as he rolled out of bed. Weird dreams aside, he glanced at the clock and realized how much of the morning he’d wasted. He should probably make himself presentable and go out for a coffee or something. Maybe he’d ask Jester what she was doing later when she got off her shift or something. He didn’t have anywhere he needed to be today, for once.

As he padded into his bathroom wrapped up in only a sheet, Molly noticed that the backs of his fingers itched like they’d been freshly tattooed. He flipped on the light, frowning, and he held up a hand to examine them. That was when he saw it, and a quiet gasp tore itself from his throat.

Stylized spiraling flames spread themselves across the backs of Molly’s fingers, spilling out of the mouth of the snake’s head on his right hand and blossoming forth from the center of his palm on the left. Molly turned over both hands, staring at them in wonder.

He had a soulmark. It couldn’t be anything else.

Was this… the source of the weird dreams from last night, maybe? Molly suddenly remembered the book he’d checked out from the library yesterday, and it occurred to him that now he had even more of a reason to read it. 

Molly ran back to his closet, quickly pulling on the first pair of underwear he found, and then he tossed on a white turtleneck and his favorite pair of high waisted jeans. It took him a moment to rummage about in his sock drawer until he finally pulled out one bright pink sock decorated with white unicorns and another baby blue one that an ocean wave motif stitched all around the sides.

While slipping on a comfortable pair of warm black loafers, Molly shrugged into his favorite patterned coat that reminded him of the one he’d been wearing in his dreams and put on a pair of sleek black gloves. He swung by his bathroom again to run a brush through his hair, fix up his horn charms, and add a splash of peppermint perfume before he snatched up his bag with the book in it.

“Yes, this is a good look for today,” he mused, taking a nice long look in the mirror.

Molly figured this was as much effort as he felt like putting into being presentable this morning, so he turned out the light, picked up his phone from the nightstand, and then he stuffed his wallet into one of the many pockets of his coat. He paused a moment to stare at his hands again, thinking back to yesterday. Was his soulmate… no. It couldn’t be. Had he met _anyone else_ yesterday? Someone at Yasha’s work, perhaps?

He sighed, deciding such thoughts could wait until after he’d had a proper cup of coffee, and possibly a pastry. There was also a lot of reading that probably needed doing, and the thought of having to go through the entire book to find what he was looking for felt a bit daunting. Yet, something told Molly that the book had what he needed, it would just take some time to find it. 

So, it was out the door and off to the Traveler’s Cafe he went, with a twinkle in his eye and a lightness in his heart. He had a _soulmate_ … somewhere, and he was going to find them again if it was the last thing he did.


	3. Chapter 3

_Oh, how I have stumbled through the path I took to get to you  
“Be prepared to be surprised," opened my eyes when it was time_

The Traveler’s Cafe was a quaint little place that sat along a promenade with several other well-to-do boutiques and specialty shops. They overlooked a beautiful duck pond and a walking trail that was carefully curated with comfortable benches, rental bike racks, and a widely diverse selection of native trees and small plants to make the area feel like an escape from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the heart of Zadash.

A gentle ringing sounded when Molly pushed the door open and walked inside, being careful of his tail as the door closed behind him. On the other side of the counter, handing two cups of steaming tea to a tall man with white hair and a dark blue coat, was his good friend Jester, a blue tiefling wearing a bright pink apron over a warm, dark green dress. Molly smiled at Jester as she noticed him enter, but he waited patiently for her to finish up with her current customer. The tall man thanked her for the tea and turned around to take the other cup to the woman Molly was certain was his wife. Most of the people who frequented the Traveler’s Cafe were usually regulars who all knew each other at least by sight if not from personal connection to one another.

“Good morning, Jester darling,” Molly greeted her cheerily, receiving a high pitched giggle in return. 

“Mol- _ly_! It’s almost noon!” Jester laughed. “I bet you were out drinking, huh?

Molly offered her a sheepish grin and a shrug. “A friend of mine from physical therapy wanted to go out, and you know I can’t resist _that_ ,” he told Jester with a wink. Jester snickered, shaking her head. 

“Okay, okay, you want your favorite or something new today?” Jester asked him, and Molly hummed to himself as he stared up at the menu, tapping his chin. “Ah, actually, something with peppermint would be nice… but surprise me!” 

Jester nodded, tapping something into the register. 

“Got it,” she said to herself, “a surprise. Hot or cold?” Jester looked up at Molly, who immediately said, “Oh, gods. Something hot, please. It’s freezing out there.” At this, Jester laughed again and told Molly his total, which he paid for gladly, swiping his phone over the reader. “I’ll also toss in one of the old pastries from way early this morning cause they won’t be good soon anyway,” she told Molly, who nodded. “Oh, thanks love,” he called back as he took up a spot by the window in one of the plush curved booths.

Once he was settled, Molly pulled out the book from his bag and set it on the table, staring at the cover for a minute. It wasn’t anything special or exciting, really, just a title, author’s name, and picture of linked hands on the cover. One hand appeared to be the dark, slender skin of a drow and the other was a long-fingered furry paw of a firbolg.

Molly turned over the cover and passed the first few pages to look at the table of contents, muttering under his breath as he read to himself.

“Introduction, Types of Soulmates, Common… Uncommon… Platonic, Romantic…” 

He frowned at the long list of things, debating looking back at the index and just seeing if anything caught his eye, but he decided against it. Molly flipped to start the start of one of the early sections with just the different types in general and began to read.

Molly knew about soulmarks, but apparently, they came in all sorts of types. Some people had the exact same soulmark while others had the words of their first meeting branded somewhere. Another group had shifting numbers on their wrists, like a timer, while others still had moving marks of animals that embodied their soulmate or mates. Upon further reading, Molly guessed that Yasha and her soulmate had marks that reflected each other’s souls, as his possibly was, though he would have to see the matching mark to confirm.

That was about the time Jester came by with his drink, a piping hot concoction of peppermint cocoa, coffee, and whipped cream sprinkled with white chocolate shavings and a cinnamon muffin. The muffin was indeed a little dry, but the peppermint coffee was just the thing to wash it down with as Molly continued to skim through.

Molly decided to skip over the platonic, romantic, and multiple soulmate sections for the moment, finally coming across a rather interesting section about soulmates who were not connected with soulmarks but instead had each others’ earworms and would sing aloud to one half of a duet, or some who would have vivid dreams of one another where they had conversations they could remember upon waking as early as the age of five.

The section about dreams had an interesting footnote about soulmates with something called a _consecuted soul_. Something about that phrase tickled something at the edges of Molly’s memory, and he quickly went to the index to find other mentions of it. Just as he found the beginning of the section on consecution, the door to the cafe opened.

Molly looked up out of curiosity, as usually there weren’t any regulars that came in at this time like Molly did, so whoever this was had to be someone new.

What surprised Molly was the cat that trotted in on a harness, a long, sleek Bengal with a delicate blue collar and bright golden eyes, as did the person who followed the cat inside. It was the red-headed librarian from yesterday, Caleb, looking equal parts soft and sharp with his adorable sweater and well-cut coat.

Molly watched intently, book forgotten, as Jester cooed over the cat Caleb had brought with him. 

“Oh, Caleb! You’re in pretty late today, huh?” Jester crooned, wiggling her fingers at the cat. “But at least you brought Frumpkin!” She paused, giving the human a once-over. “Are you alright? You only bring Frumpy with you when you’re super stressed.” Caleb glanced down at Frumpkin, who was sitting patiently on the floor and dutifully looking back up at his keeper. 

“Ah, a bit,” Caleb confessed, looking back up at Jester. 

“I’ve got something rather heavy on my mind today and was hoping a cup of coffee and one of your famous pastries would do the trick.” Jester nodded emphatically. “Of course, because my coffee is _the best_!” To which Caleb laughed deeply and replied, “Indeed it is, _blaubeere_. I think just my usual will do, and one of your cinnamon bear claws?”

“Can do!” Jester chirped happily. She rang him up and poured him a steaming cup of straight black coffee, handing it to him with just two tiny cups of creamy vanilla coffee creamer and one of her remaining bear claws. 

Caleb took them gratefully and thanked her, tipping her generously before he turned around. That was when Molly caught Caleb’s gaze and the man froze, the world once more tilting on its axis as it had in the library. A soft blush dusted Caleb’s pale cheeks, which somehow made him look even more adorable than he already was.

“Why, hello Mister Caleb,” Molly said, feeling rather quite shy all of a sudden. “I didn’t know you came by here. Would you mind coming over to chat with me for a spell?”

* * *

Caleb stared, blinking owlishly, not quite believing what he was seeing. 

Mollymauk, the tiefling who was very likely his soulmate, was just sitting there with a sweet looking concoction of a coffee, a half-eaten muffin, and an open book laid in front of him on the table. Caleb realized exactly what Mollymauk was reading, and he suddenly remembered his dream from this morning and what followed after, his face flushing with heat.

“ _Guten morgen_ , Mister Mollymauk,” Caleb greeted the tiefling, glancing down at the booth. “Did–Would you… ah, I mean to say, that is…”

“It’s alright, dear,” Mollymauk assured Caleb, patting the soft fabric of the seat beside himself. “Come sit and enjoy your coffee, though gods know how you can stand to take it black with two creamers,” he laughed, a wide, giggling grin revealing a flash of fangs. “At least you have good taste in pastries. And please, call me Molly.”

Caleb nodded, setting down his coffee and bear claw as Frumpkin hopped up onto the seat next to Molly. 

“Oh, what a handsome little fellow,” Molly cooed. He reached out for Frumpkin as Caleb slid into the booth beside them, but Molly paused just before his fingers brushed Frumpkin’s fur. “Am I allowed to touch?” Molly asked, looking up at Caleb. 

“ _Ja_ , you can touch,” Caleb confirmed. “Frumpkin is a support animal, not a service cat.”

Molly seemed to remember he was wearing gloves and so he removed one in order to pet Frumpkin properly. As Molly did so, Caleb noticed something along the backs of his fingers that had not been there yesterday afternoon.

“Did you… get a new tattoo?” Caleb asked, watching the flames dance along with Molly’s fingers as they scratched at the back of Frumpkin’s ears. Molly stilled, looking first at his hand, and then up at Caleb. Now, as the noonday sun flooded through the window next to them, Caleb could see a deep purple blush along Molly’s lavender cheeks. 

Molly took his hand back and held it closer to his body as his tail tapped nervously against the bottom of the booth. “ _Es tut mir Leid_ ,” Caleb apologized, then, realizing his mistake, repeated himself in Common, “Ah, I apologize. I didn’t mean to draw attention to it, I just don’t remember that being there yesterday… too many details, _ja_?” Caleb gently tapped Frumpkin and pointed to Molly, telling him in Zemnian that the tiefling needed his help.

Frumpkin chirruped and rubbed up against Molly’s side rather insistently. Molly gasped and still remained tight-lipped about the marks, but his tail had stopped tapping nervously against the bottom of the booth and his shoulders lost much of their tension.

“If I didn’t know that you didn’t have those marks on you yesterday,” Caleb began after a few beats of silence, “then I would have guessed that they were why you checked out this book.” He tapped on the pages of the book that still lay open in front of them. Molly huffed a short breath through his mouth. “It really wasn’t though, honest. I was just wanting to know more because a friend of mine met her soulmate a few days ago, and I… well. If I knew anything about soulmates before three years ago, it’s all gone now.”

Molly removed his other glove and showed his hands to Caleb.

“You’re right though,” Molly told Caleb absently as they both stared at the soulmarks on Molly’s hands, “they weren’t there yesterday, and I… while I can’t say you were the only new person I met then, you were the only person whose hands I touched.” One of Molly’s hands dropped back into his lap while the other resumed petting Frumpkin in what Caleb recognized to be a self-soothing gesture.

“It has to be you, I think,” Molly admitted in a small voice, his gaze shifting to anywhere but Caleb. “I’ve known all of my fellow dancers for months now, and the two friends I went drinking with last night are already marked. Not that I _couldn’t_ be marked with one of them since having more than one soulmate _is_ a thing,”–Molly rambled on, glancing at the book on the table–“but I just don’t think they’d suit me in the way that they suit one another, you know?”

Caleb’s heart hurt just seeing Molly like this. He seemed made for exuberance, not melancholy. 

“And I must have met at least two or three dozen library patrons I haven’t seen before,” Caleb added, reaching to place a hand over the one Molly had set into Frumpkin’s fur. There wasn’t quite the same spark as yesterday or even the blooming heat from his dream, but something must have passed between them. Caleb could feel his heartbeat go just a hair faster as Molly perked up, wide eyes staring into Caleb’s own.

“However,” Caleb continued, seeking Molly’s gaze and finding it not as hard as it usually was to hold himself there, “I did not find any of _them_ in my dreams last night.”

Under the table, Caleb could feel Molly’s tail flail to life, thumping excitedly against his shins. “Oh,” Molly gasped, his breath hitching slightly, “ _Oh_. You _dreamed_ of me? Do you… oh, you must have a mark, don’t you? What is it? Can you show me?”

Caleb laughed, almost relieved to see Molly so excited. 

Frumpkin was a little less enthusiastic, and he hopped across Caleb’s lap to the other side of the seat, which allowed the two men to move closer together. Caleb reached up to touch the center of his chest, and he circled the area around his heart.

“It is here, right above my heart,” Caleb breathed, amazed to feel so light and free at such a simple confession. Then he held up a hand to trail two fingers down the peacock feathers that spilled out over Molly’s face and neck. “It happens to be a peacock, not unlike these feathers here. I don’t think it could belong to anyone else but you, _schatz_.”

Molly’s tail wound itself around Caleb’s calf as he turned to smile into Caleb’s touch. 

“I dreamed of you too, you know,” Molly hummed, glancing over at the book on the table. He pulled away, reluctantly, and picked up his cup of coffee to take a long drink of it. “I wonder if that’s part of it.” 

Caleb’s gaze followed his to the section Molly had flipped to earlier. He scooted right up against Molly and pulled the book closer to give it a better look. Caleb’s other hand reached for his coffee and he took a sip of it before suddenly realizing he still hadn’t put the creamers in. This made Molly laugh even though Caleb could _feel_ the blush on his face.

“I still can’t believe you take your coffee almost black. Is it like, a special blend or something and it’s just better that way?” Molly asked. Caleb laughed and shook his head. “Ah, _nein_ , it’s just how I take my coffee. Though when I was younger, _Mama_ used to put milk _and_ cream in it when she made it for me, though I eventually just lost the taste for it.” Molly nodded, leaning his head gingerly against Caleb’s shoulder, being mindful of his horns. 

“But anyway,” Caleb continued, turning back to the book, “you said you dreamed of me as well?” 

“Yeah, and it felt so… real. Like I was actually there or… like it was a memory I was reliving.” Molly frowned, sighing deeply. “In the last one, I was being interrogated by my friends–our friends, I guess. Some Tabaxi named Cree recognized me as someone I apparently was in another life, but I didn’t remember it. It was kind of awful, the whole conversation… but you were kind. You didn’t pry too much and you were very considerate. It felt like with every look we exchanged you were trying to apologize for not helping enough.”

Caleb pulled one arm around Molly’s shoulder and rubbed at it in circular motions with his thumb.

“You said, before… if you’d known anything about soulmates before three years ago, that was all gone now? Does this have anything to do with that?” Caleb pondered aloud, and Molly nodded in agreement. “Yeah. I was in a bad accident I don’t really remember, so a lot of whoever I was is just… gone. I still knew how to read and speak and do a bunch of things, but I had to go through a lot of physical therapy to be able to dance again, and my memory is sometimes hit or miss with some stuff, as you know.”

“Maybe I can remember some things for you,” Caleb offered, and Molly barked out a laugh. “Oh, that’s right! You do remember like, everything, don’t you?” 

“Sort of,” Caleb tried to clarify. “I pretty much remember whatever happened in the last month in great detail, but after that, the memory can degrade just like anyone else’s.” Molly huffed, looking up at Caleb from where he still had his head on Caleb’s shoulder.

“That’s still pretty cool though,” Molly murmured, only pulling away to take another drink of his coffee. Caleb leaned over the book again to get a better look at the section Molly had open. “Consecuted souls?” Caleb questioned the tiefling. “I must confess I do not know very much about this one, though I am curious how you came to this section of the book.” 

Caleb listened patiently as Molly explained how he went through each of the sections he found interesting until he came across an entry about dreams that mentioned it.

“So then I went to the index to read up on it, but then the door opened and a cat walked through, and then I just sort of… forgot all about it.” Molly stared at the pages, frowning. Caleb gently grasped one of Molly’s shoulders and squeezed.

“Why don’t we read it together then?” Caleb suggested, completely serious. “I can read it aloud if you like, though we should probably go somewhere else for that. Perhaps my apartment? Or yours, if that’s what you would prefer.” Caleb blushed again, knowing how the invitation sounded, but thankfully Molly didn’t tease him for it.

Instead, Caleb felt the tiefling’s tail uncurl from his leg and start flapping vigorously against the underside of the booth again.

“Oh, you mean that?” Molly gasped excitedly. “I–I think I’d like that.”

Caleb gently shooed Frumpkin back down onto the floor, wrapping the leash around one hand and grabbing his coffee with it. Then he offered a hand to Molly to help the tiefling out of the booth, and Molly’s ears flicked back and upwards as he beamed at Caleb.

“So, to your place then?” Molly asked. Caleb nodded. “ _Ja_ , it’s not far, you’ll see.”

* * *

Caleb had been right; his apartment wasn’t far at all from the Traveler’s Cafe. In fact, as Molly stood by the second floor railing of Caleb’s building and he looked out at the streets below, Molly saw a familiar bus stop that he recognized.

“Huh, we’re not very far from my place either,” Molly mused, pointing in the direction of the bus stop as Caleb was pulling out his keys. “That’s the stop I usually go to in order to head to the performing arts district for work.” Caleb turned around and followed the line of sight to where Molly was pointing and he nodded thoughtfully.

“You did mention that you went to physical therapy in order to dance again,” Caleb replied as he turned back around to unlock the door. Molly turned to lean back against the railing and would have been content to just watch him forever until Caleb got the door open and motioned for Molly to step in first. Gods, this man was such a _gentleman_. 

How in Exandria was he Molly’s soulmate?

Blushing a bit, Molly stepped inside and was very quickly passed up by Frumpkin as Caleb let him off of the leash and removed his harness. Molly chuckled.

“Excited to be home, are you?” He asked Frumpkin, who merely blinked up at him with wide golden eyes before he lifted his tail and trotted off into what looked like a cozy little living area off to the left of the hall. “ _Ja_ , he likes going out, but Frumpkin also likes being home so he can laze about in the sunbeams.”

“Silly kitty can’t have it both ways,” Molly quipped, and Caleb chuckled. “See, you understand. Frumpkin, not so much.”

Molly wandered a little further inside Caleb’s apartment, spotting a kitchen to the right and more rooms further down the hall. When he turned back around, Caleb had taken off his coat and placed it on the rack, leaving him in just his soft-looking sweater.

“Gods, you look so soft I want to hug you forever,” Molly blurted, slapping one hand to his mouth when he realized what he’d just said. This time, Caleb burst out laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes, which was at least a little bit worth a few moments of embarrassment. Caleb flashed him a grin, chuckling breathlessly.

“I’m glad you find that appealing,” Caleb said approvingly. “My friend Beauregard just tells me that I dress like an old man.” Molly frowned a bit, pursing his lips in thought.

“Beauregard… huh. I _know_ that name from somewhere.” Molly tapped his chin. “Say, you wouldn’t happen to work with this person? At the library?” Caleb’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I do, actually. Do you know her?” Suddenly the image of Yasha and her soulmate came into Molly’s mind, and at last, the name clicked with a face in his head. Molly snapped his fingers.

“Ah! I met her yesterday, in fact! She’s my friend Yasha’s soulmate that I insisted I meet after Yasha told me about her.” Molly exclaimed, unable to stop himself from grinning like a fool. “She says you dress like an old man? Nonsense. You just look like a man who knows what he wants: comfort. Not everyone’s like me and likes to live dangerously by putting on two random socks from my sock drawer every morning.”

Caleb sighed contentedly. “Ja, that’s what I keep trying to tell her too,” he insisted, then tilted his head to look down at Molly’s feet. “You’re wearing two different socks? Bold of you.” Molly flashed Caleb a toothy grin. “Would you like to see them? If you don’t mind me taking off my shoes in your place, that is.” 

“Oh!” Caleb gasped, as though suddenly remembering something terribly important. “ _Ja_ , please do! You can leave them here by the coat rack, which you can also take off if you like, and leave them here for a bit. I’ll go turn the heat up.” Caleb moved past Molly and around the corner down the hall, but not before he paused and added, “Oh, and please feel free to sit on the couch and get comfortable!” Then he was off again before Molly could even get a word out. 

Adorable. The man was simply, truly, and _utterly_ adorable.

Molly took off his shoes and coat and placed them into the places Caleb had shown him, and carefully stepped into the small living area that Molly had seen when he entered. There was a plush brown couch sitting in front of a glass and iron coffee table and a modest flatscreen TV placed on top of a dark wooden entertainment cabinet. A cat tree sat in the corner by the window, where Frumpkin was currently lounging in a patch of sun, and when Molly turned around… there were several shelves of books lining nearly the entire wall facing the couch and TV.

Something about the sight of so many books filled Molly’s heart with such a strong wave of affection that he slipped back onto the couch over one of its arms and he just lay there for a moment with his legs dangling over the side. He eventually tugged off his shoulder bag and slid it over onto the top of the coffee table and sighed contentedly as he sank into the cushions.

“Wow, this couch is amazing,” Molly muttered, yawning. Gods, he really just wanted to fall asleep right where he was. He had just closed his eyes for a brief spell before the sound of Caleb’s chuckling had them snap open as he jolted slightly. 

“I see you’ve done as I asked,” came Caleb’s voice from over the couch, and the sound of soft padding followed it as Caleb walked over to observe the patterns on Molly’s socks. A faint smile tugged at the edges of the redhead’s lips. “Heh, I like the unicorns on this one. Reminds me of Jester,” Caleb told him, pointing at the pink sock. Molly grinned. “I think she actually gifted them to me like, last year or something. Not sure.”

Caleb’s slight grin morphed into a wider smile and he gave Molly’s shoulder a gentle nudge with his hand. 

“Alright, sit up or move over, _ja_? I thought we were reading the book together?” Caleb teased, and while Molly found the idea of sitting up and trapping Caleb with his head rather intriguing, he decided to be kind and just sit up instead. Once Caleb was settled and had pulled the book from Molly’s bag, Molly leaned up against Caleb as he had in the cafe, his head resting carefully on Caleb’s shoulder.

Caleb reached over and caught one of Molly’s hands in his and squeezed it gently. It felt like Caleb had squeezed his heart a bit as well, with how utterly besotted the gesture made Molly feel. He couldn’t help but turn his face into Caleb’s shoulder and press a kiss there, which Molly swore had sent a shiver down the human’s spine.

“Ah, sorry,” Molly mumbled into Caleb’s sweater, “I’m being distracting, aren’t I?”

“A bit,” Caleb agreed, “but I find I don’t mind when it’s you.”

Oh, this man had to stop saying such things. Molly just wanted to be even more distracting to draw more of those words from his lips forever.

Molly managed to behave long enough for Caleb to find the section on consecuted souls, and as Caleb began to read aloud, Molly felt himself begin to fall even further under the spell that was his soulmate.

“Consecuted souls,” Caleb began, “at least in the context of soulmates, is not quite the same as consecution as that under the light of the Luxon. Consecution through the Luxon Beacons involves a process known only to the ruling Dens of Xhorhas that, when completed, functions as a form of cyclical reincarnation in the pursuit of a more perfect self. Consecuted soulmates–though reborn across several lifetimes in a similar manner–do not need to undergo this process to achieve this status.”

“Huh, that’s interesting,” Molly chimed in. “I’m guessing the dream thing is further on?”

Caleb nodded absently. “ _Ja_ , I think so. This section is not particularly long, but the text is significantly more dense than at first glance, so have a little patience.” Molly nodded into Caleb’s shoulder, suddenly very glad that Caleb had suggested reading this section aloud. Molly was uncertain if he would have really grasped any of this had he tried going through it on his own.

“Consecuted soulmates also have a particular quirk that the consecuted of the Luxon do not; for not only are the souls reborn only once all souls in the link have passed on, but they are documented to be nearly the same people in every instance that they meet. This…” Caleb trailed off, and then quickly continued with, “Ah, and here is the part where it mentions dreams–this is because these consecuted soulmates, once they meet in a single lifetime, will begin to dream of their past lives and events or meaningful moments with a clarity that often feels more like a vivid memory than a dream.”

“Yeah, I definitely got that impression from mine,” Molly told Caleb quietly, remembering the interrogation he had experienced last night. “What about you?”

Molly watched as Caleb blushed deeply and coughed into his other shoulder. 

“Ah… ja, it was… quite visceral,” Caleb replied quickly, and Molly grinned, his tail waving about and weaving around Caleb’s waist. “Oh… that’s quite the blush you have there Mister Caleb. Was it a naughty dream?”

Caleb chuckled, a bit awkwardly. “Sort of. The dream itself, not quite so much, as all it involved was a bit of really intense gentle wall pinning. However, when I woke up, well…” He cleared his throat. “I sort of… thought of you, but it felt like a more real and tangible fantasy than any I’ve ever had. It was… very surreal.” Molly frowned, the spade of his tail gently resting along the inside of Caleb’s thigh.

“Well, I hope it was still good for you,” he mumbled, pouting. Caleb laughed, the gentle rumbling of it rolling through Molly like a comforting wave.

“I didn’t say it was bad,” Caleb admitted, “just that I think I was perhaps not quite as awake as I thought and one of those memories was bleeding through into reality. It was certainly quite… stimulating, though. But, ah… I’m going to finish reading the rest of this if you don’t mind. Is that alright?”

“Oh, go ahead,” Molly encouraged him. “Now I’m curious about the rest as well.”

Caleb nodded and continued reading. 

“It is unclear how two or more souls enter into this cyclical state, though some experts theorize the answer has some connection with the popular literary device of star crossed lovers. Some primary sources have recorded experiences of traumatic events in their past lives that prevented the completion of a meaningful connection with their soulmate. Many modern scholars disagree on which came first, the original pair of consecuted soulmates or the coining of the phrase ‘star crossed’, however, the connection still remains within both the worlds of fiction as well as soulmate academia.”

Molly felt a deep sense of trepidation creep into his chest, and he wrapped his arms tightly around Caleb as though doing so would ensure that they would never part again.

“I’m… not sure I want to hear the rest of it now,” Molly confessed, hiding his face in Caleb’s sweater. Caleb reached up and gently carded a hand through Molly’s curls, which did soothe a little of the ache in Molly’s soul.

“I’ll read ahead to myself a bit then, and I’ll let you know more if I think it’s fine. Does that sound alright?” Caleb asked him gently, and Molly nodded though he did not pull away. 

For a few moments, there was little sound other than Caleb’s turning of the page as he read. Caleb kept his hand in Molly’s hair to ground him while Molly waited for him to finish. Eventually, Caleb made an intrigued hum in the back of his throat, and that piqued enough of Molly’s curiosity for him to let go of Caleb and carefully pull away.

“That wasn’t… a bad sound, I’m guessing?” Molly asked, equal parts timid and hopeful.

Caleb made a side to side motion with his head, which Molly took to mean that it was neither truly one or the other. 

“It’s certainly interesting.” Caleb took one last look at the book before closing it and setting it on the table next to Molly’s bag. “Some people who find themselves to be part of a consecuted soul grouping do eventually indeed form lasting imprints,” he continued, “and they are able to live out their lives as most soulmates normally do. It is unclear whether or not this releases those souls from that state of cyclical rebirth, but I do not think that you and I have anything to fear.”

Caleb turned to Molly and reached out for one of Molly’s hands, gently rubbing his thumbs against the soulmark there.

“I would rather you not fret over this, _schatz_ ,” Caleb told him seriously. “We might not have been able to find happiness in another life, but we’re here, together, in this one.” Caleb let go to reach up and brush a curly lock of hair behind one of Molly’s pointed ears. “Say, have you had lunch today? I didn’t quite get up early enough for breakfast myself and all I had was that pastry back at the cafe.”

Molly chuffed. “You know, now that I think about it, I am a bit peckish.” He frowned watching as Caleb got up and headed towards the kitchen. Molly turned around, putting one arm over the back of the couch and calling out, “Wait, you can cook?”

“Well, _ja_ ,” Caleb said, matter-of-fact. “ _Mama_ told me once she wasn’t going to let her son out into the world without knowing how to fend for himself. So I know a few basic things. Nothing terribly complicated.” Molly found he couldn’t hear Caleb quite as well from where he was, so he vaulted over the couch and wandered in that direction.

Caleb’s kitchen was a compact little thing, linoleum tiled floor, a non-offensive floral wallpaper on the walls, with dark wooden cabinets. The major appliances weren’t top of the line, but they looked very clean and serviceable, and in one corner of the room was a study square table, covered with a checkered tablecloth and surrounded by four chairs, all of which were the same color as the cabinets. 

It felt homey, lived in, and well-loved.

Molly sat down in one of the chairs to watch Caleb work, knowing he wasn’t going to be much help even if he offered. Caleb seemed happy to let him, and they chatted amicably as Caleb cooked.

At some point, Caleb set down a plate in front of Molly with some diced chicken chunks and a mouth watering combination of multiple kinds of cheese that were sandwiched in between two large tortillas. 

“Mmm, that smells amazing,” Molly gushed, licking his lips. “I uh, I know I’ve seen this before but I’ve forgotten what it’s called.”

“It’s a quesadilla. Pretty sure it’s Marquesian.”

“You sound Zemnian, though?” Molly picked up one of the slices and couldn’t help the moan of pleasure that escaped him. Caleb laughed. “I am Zemnian, ja. I’m from a small town called Blumenthal, which is much further north of here. Forgive my asking, but… do you know where you’re from?”

Molly sighed, shrugging. “My papers say I’m from Tal’Dorei, but I don’t really have any family that I remember, other than my foster parents, Gustav and Desmond. And I guess all of the other misfits they decided to raise over the years.”

Caleb nodded, looking rather apologetic until Molly flashed him a smile.

“It’s ok, I’m good with it now, mostly.” Molly devoured another slice of his quesadilla. “Gods, this is heavenly. I know it’s basically grilled cheese with chunks of meat and thinner slices of bread, but like… it’s kind of amazing.”

“You’re not hard to please when it comes to food, I take it?” Caleb asked, grinning. 

“Not at all,” Molly agreed, taking a drink of the tea that Caleb had also prepared. “This is really good too. Do you happen to get it from a flower shop about a block from the library?” Caleb raised a single eyebrow at Molly. “ _Ja_ , actually. How did you know?”

“The blend tastes familiar but slightly different? It’s got Cad’s touch all over it though.”

“Ah, Caduceus. We haven’t spoken at length in a while because I’ve been busy with work lately, but I’d love to have dinner with him sometime and catch up.” Caleb picked up his cup and was about to take a drink before he smiled at nothing in particular. “I’d love it if you came with me? I know he has a soulmate, so we could make a double date out of it, perhaps. If you’d like.” 

Caleb ducked his head as another blush flooded his face. Molly’s tail waved excitedly at the thought of it.

“Oh, I’m pleased as punch that you’d even ask! Also, I know Cad’s soulmate as well; we’re drinking buddies. He was in physical therapy with me after my accident three years ago. Decent fellow, if a bit serious at times.”

“Speaking of physical therapy… you said you went through it in order to dance again? What, ah… what kind of dancing, if I may ask?” Caleb was still blushing a bit from earlier, and Molly could see it deepen again. Molly chuckled. “Oh, I dance ballet. What did you think I did, exotic?” He winked at Caleb, who returned the laughter sheepishly.

“Well, I–I didn’t want to assume,” Caleb mumbled, and Molly waved at him with a hand.

“I know it’s a common thing that tieflings do, and some of us are pretty good at it.” Molly took another bite of his remaining quesadilla and swallowed it before continuing. “Like, before Marion–the main patron of the Chateau–was one of the owners there, she spent some time in Nicodranas as a courtesan. Apparently, she was kind of amazing, too. But then she fell in love and had a child and they moved here.”

“That sounds like she’s led an interesting life,” Caleb commented. Molly nodded.

“Far as I can tell she’s done pretty well for herself in the meantime, and honestly, she’s kind of my idol? Like, I don’t remember learning to dance, but when Yasha showed me videos of my previous performances while I was recovering in the hospital, I just… felt so _strongly_ about going back.” 

Molly sighed, thinking back to the days when he had no idea who he was, but he knew _what_ he was, and that he wanted it with all his heart and soul.

“When I auditioned for a part in the Nutcracker, I wasn’t sure I was going to make it,” he told Caleb solemnly. “It was going to be my first big role since the accident, and I thought that when I was called back the director was going to give me some small side part that wouldn’t even have a character name in the program. Just an extra under the special thanks.”

Caleb sat forward in his chair, utterly entranced by Molly’s tale. “You must have gotten something, because you also said that you’ve been working with your fellow dancers for months, back in the cafe.”

“Gods, I said that? I must have.” Molly put his elbows up on the table and pressed his lips to his clasped hands. “But you’re right though, I got something. The Nutcracker is a Zemnian story, right? Guess who I got the role for. _Guess_.” Molly let his hands fall to the table, revealing his toothy grin.

Caleb was silent for a moment before he asked, “Were you cast as the cavalier, then?”

“No, but close,” Molly replied, standing up and giving a little twirl right there in the center of the kitchen. Once the room stopped spinning and he caught sight of Caleb’s awestruck face. “They wanted _me_ to be the Sugar Plum Fairy,” Molly finished, breathless and impassioned. 

“I don’t actually have a lot of time on stage, but like, nearly every dancer who has ever seen the Nutcracker wants to be _that person_. The Sugar Plum Fairy. Dancing with their partner in a pretty dress under those _lights_ with that _music_ –oh, and my dance partner’s this drow, goes by Essek. You’d like him I think. He’s the studious sort. Very serious, and quite dedicated to his work. Oh! Will you come to watch me perform, do you think?”

“Of course, _schatz_ ,” Caleb says, almost immediately.

Molly blinked, stunned. “Like, really? Just like that? I don’t… I don’t even know how much the tickets cost but I know it’s… a lot.”

Caleb stood and crossed the room to Molly, pulling him in close for a hug.

“I would find a way. This is important to you, and I want to be there.”

“On a librarian’s salary?” Molly pressed, a little stunned. Caleb chuckled. “I am a bit more than your average librarian, but we can get to that later. Did you have anything you wanted to ask? Or perhaps you have somewhere to be?” Caleb looked a bit sad at the thought of Molly leaving, and, well. That just wouldn’t do.

“I have no plans for today,” Molly answered honestly. “Frankly, I… just want to spend more time with you. Is that weird?”

Caleb shook his head. “ _Nein_ , I feel the same. Say, I sort of fell asleep watching the last episode of _My Cat from the Nine Hells_ last night, and I rather missed most of it. Would you like to watch it with me?”

“Gods, yes, please. I love that show, but I’m bad about putting things into my DVR.”

“I’ve still got the whole entire season on there that I haven’t deleted yet. Just let me clean up and I’ll join you on the couch.”

Molly hugged Caleb as tightly as he possibly could, his heart just absolutely near to bursting. “You. You wonderful man, you. I’m so goddamn lucky– _ahhhhh_.” Molly nuzzled the crook of Caleb’s neck briefly before he quickly leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to Caleb’s cheek.

“I’ll be on the couch then, love,” Molly threw back as he scampered off to get comfortable.

* * *

It was nearly well past sunset when Caleb finally realized how late it was.

He was curled up with Molly on the couch, watching the old episodes of _My Cat from the Nine Hells_ that were on his DVR. Outside, the sky was a deep, dark, blackish-purple with only the faintest hint of pink and orange suffusing the edges of the sky just behind the buildings across the street. 

“–can’t believe this woman thinks that the cat is out to hurt her baby. He clearly just needs his space, and… gods.” Molly threw his head back onto where Caleb’s arm was resting, exasperated. Caleb was about to reply when he noted the time on the digital clock that was resting on one of the shelves mounted above the TV.

“Oh, is it half-past nine already?” Caleb breathed. “I’m usually rather aware of the time.”

Molly paused the show and pulled out his phone, pressing the power button on the side to check the time. “Oh yeah, wow, you’re right. Have we really just been watching TV together all day?” 

Caleb laughed and pulled Molly in close with the arm he’d had draped across the back of the couch. 

“It seems so. Did you want to stay for dinner, perhaps? Then I could walk you home?”

Molly pressed another quick kiss to Caleb’s cheek like he’d done earlier in the kitchen, and Caleb felt like his face was on fire. “You’re such a _gentleman_ ,” Molly sighed happily. “Actually, I kind of… would like to maybe order in something for dinner. Nothing fancy, just like some pizza maybe?”

Caleb hummed in response, pulling away from Molly just a bit. “That sounds reasonable, _ja_. I happen to know a good place to call.” He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts for the number. 

“What do you like on your pizza? Any, ah… fruits or vegetables?” Caleb asked.

Molly snorted. “I tried pineapple once because I’m just like that. I was… not a fan.” He made a face, to which Caleb felt he could relate. A tiefling after his own heart was this one. “Vegetables are also great,” Molly went on, “but not on a pizza, at least not for me. Do they have a meat lover’s option? With a stuffed crust maybe?”

Caleb nodded absently, tapping the number in his contacts and putting in a call through to the pizzeria that Kiri’s family-owned. He happily gave them his order and the two men finished watching the rest of the current episode while they waited for it to arrive.

An older gnomish boy in his late teens showed up maybe twenty minutes later, and Caleb greeted him warmly. “Ah, _hallo_ Austin. I hope your parents aren’t working you too hard.” The redheaded boy shrugged and offered Caleb a contented smile. “Papa never sends me out on deliveries unless I’m done with my schoolwork, Mr. Widogast! But I also just like helping out sometimes, to earn a little extra spending money so I can buy a couple of nice gifts for my brother and sisters.”

“Well that’s good,” said Caleb as he took the pizza. He fished a bill out of his pocket and handed it to the teen, who took it with wide eyes. “A little more extra spending money for you then,” Caleb added with a wink. “And say hello to Kiri for me.”

Austin nodded fervently and turned on his heel rather quickly with hardly a wave goodbye. Though, as he was about to scramble down the stairs back to his car, Caleb could hear him yell out an excited, “Thank you, Mr. Widogast!”

Caleb chuckled and took the pizza inside where Molly was waiting.

“You know that kid?” Molly asked as they sat across from one another on the couch, pillows in their laps with paper plates laden with pizza placed precariously on top.

“One of his younger sisters, Kiri, comes by the library a lot. She’s adopted, but their family are good eggs, the lot of them.” Caleb picked up one of his slices and took a few bites while Molly’s tail wrapped comfortingly around one of Caleb’s ankles.

By the time the two of them had eaten their fill of pizza, it was well past sunset, and the heavy clouds that had been hanging around all day were finally beginning to let go of their snow. The edges of Caleb’s windows cracked with frost, and he realized that he _really_ didn’t want Molly to leave. Still, he should at least _try_ to be a gentleman about it.

“Are you finished with yours?” Caleb asked, gesturing to Molly’s plate scattered with bits of leftover crust and chunks of meat. Molly nodded and handed it off to Caleb. “Yeah, pizza was a good decision. Though I’m probably going to want to dance extra hard all next week,” he laughed. Caleb smiled to himself as he got up to throw the plates away. He returned to find Molly flipping through something on his phone, the light of the screen casting an ethereal glow on the tiefling’s face.

Caleb forgot for a moment what he’d meant to ask Molly until the wind howled loudly outside, casting something at the window with a soft _tap tap tap_. He blinked, grasping the back of the couch and tilting his head.

“Molly? _Schatz_?”

One of Molly’s ears twitched, but he was still focused on whatever was on his phone.

“Hmm? Yes, dear?” Molly mumbled absently. Caleb’s heart gave a gentle twinge inside his chest. He was going to die watching his soulmate be this cute. 

“Molly, I was wondering… well, actually, it’s rather dark outside now.” Caleb looked out at the snow building up outside as he rubbed the back of one thumb against his lips. “I remember offering to walk you home earlier… so I think I’d like to still do that, unless…”

At last, Molly looked up, his expression adorably expectant.

“Unless,” Caleb continued, feeling himself blush, “you don’t mind… perhaps staying over this evening?” He reached up and rubbed nervously at the back of his neck. Molly, upon hearing this, appeared to have lost control of his tail a bit since it started thumping against the couch cushions quite furiously. Molly’s face was a different story, however, as Caleb could also see now in the warm light of his lamps that a dark purple blush was dusting across the tiefling’s cheeks as well.

“Oh, Caleb,” said Molly, smiling shyly, “I think I’d rather like that. Though… I do think we should make a trip over to my apartment anyway since I’d like to pick up an overnight bag from there if you don’t mind. Just some clothes, really, if you have a spare toothbrush and, uh… all of… of that.” Molly got up from the couch and practically glided around to where Caleb stood. 

Caleb quickly nodded, feeling giddy and jittery from the energy swirling around them.

“Ja, I’ve got some spare stuff for that. You’re also free to use my shower if you need it in the morning.” 

Molly laughed and gave Caleb another kiss, this one very close indeed to the corner of Caleb’s lips. He tried turning in that direction to chase after them, but Molly was already going for his coat and buttoning it up tightly. “Could you grab the scarf in my bag for me, darling? And my gloves as well, if you don’t mind.” Molly shot back over his shoulder, and Caleb did as he was asked. 

Caleb smiled fondly as he pulled the scarf from Molly’s bag, remembering it as the pink and purple one he’d been wearing yesterday.

“Here you are, _liebling_.” Caleb handed Molly his scarf and gloves. Then he reached for his thick blue coat, as well as a woolen scarf and some cotton-lined gloves of his own. Caleb patted his pockets, making sure he had both his phone and keys before moving to open the door and gestured for Molly to step through.

“Shall we?” Caleb asked, to which Molly giggled and waved his tail from side to side.

Molly stepped through the door and Caleb glanced at the cat tree to make certain that Frumpkin was sleeping soundly on one of the top platforms before he followed his soulmate out into the cold. Locking the door behind him, Caleb didn’t see Molly until the tiefling already had one arm laced through his and pulled Caleb close to Molly’s side. 

“Sorry for startling you,” Molly apologized, though his grin told Caleb he wasn’t sorry at all, “but I thought since it was a bit chilly and all… you could use some warmth. You’re what? 150 pounds while wet?” 

Caleb chuckled. “You’re not too far off the mark, actually. I’ve always been this way though, terribly tall and gangly with the metabolism of a hummingbird. It’s both a gift and a curse, sometimes.” Molly nodded, clutching Caleb just a hair tighter as they walked down the stairs. “Well, I guess that’s why the universe gave you a tiefling for a soulmate,” said Molly with a quiet laugh. “I generate enough heat for both of us.”

That he certainly did, once they were out on the sidewalk heading towards Molly’s building. Caleb could feel Molly radiating heat even in the steeply dropping temperatures that surrounded them, and it was a welcome surprise that had Caleb gripping Molly tighter against his side as well.

Molly’s apartment building was only about two blocks away, and unlike Caleb’s building, it had an actual lobby where they could take refuge from the cold for a time. 

“Would you like me to stay down here, or…?” Caleb looked over at the building elevators curiously. Molly grabbed one of Caleb’s hands and dragged him along. “Of course you’re coming, silly goose,” Molly chided lightly. “Just to see my apartment, at least. It’s kind of a lot, but we won’t be there for very long.”

As they entered the elevator, Caleb watched Molly press the number three on the panel, and up they went. Molly’s tail was adventurous and clingy and wound its way around one of Caleb’s legs once more.

“Ah, Molly?” Caleb nudged the tiefling with his shoulder. “Yes, dear?”

“I was wondering… how aware are you of what your tail does or doesn’t do?” Caleb asked, and Molly glanced down. “Oh!” he exclaimed, and Caleb grabbed Molly’s hand even as Molly’s tail released Caleb’s leg just before the elevator doors opened. Molly chuckled sheepishly once they stepped out into the hall. 

“It’s hard for me to say, really. I’m told that tieflings are usually taught such things as they grow, but I don’t really remember any of that, so I’m kind of learning from scratch.” Molly motioned for Caleb to follow him down the hall, and they stopped at a door about midway down the path. As Molly dug out his keys and unlocked the door, he continued, “I guess to answer your question is sometimes I’m aware, but a lot of the times it kind of gives away my emotions. I’m told I’d be rubbish at poker.”

Caleb laughed. “If it’s any consolation, so am I. Even with my memory, bluffing is just not a skill I excel at.”

“Oh good, that’s nice to know,” Molly said as they walked in.

Caleb was first hit with a wave of some sort of light incense that suffused the air in the entire apartment. It wasn’t offensive, but it was strong enough to be noticed. The second thing Caleb noticed was the abundance of patterned quilts and throw pillows settled over just about every soft surface. Caleb could also see a rather sparse kitchen to his right, with a bright green tea kettle sitting on one of the stove’s burners.

Molly had wandered off to go assemble his overnight bag and was flitting about from place to place. As he wandered back and forth between rooms, he called out to Caleb, “So do you like it? Or don’t? That’s fine too, I’ve got something of an acquired taste.”

“I do rather like it,” Caleb answered honestly. “It’s very different from my apartment, but it feels very you, _schatz_.”

Molly came out of a room with a purple duffel bag thrown over one shoulder, and he ducked his head, tail waving behind him in a slow flicking pattern. “Ah, that’s very kind of you, love. Perhaps in the future, you might spend the night here with me sometime.” Caleb smiled and offered Molly a hand, which Molly took and gently squeezed.

Squeezing back, Caleb replied, “I think I’d like that. As for being an acquired taste, you just so happen to be mine, it seems. So don’t fret.” Now it was Caleb’s turn to lean over and press a kiss to Molly’s cheek. Molly’s heated skin tingled against Caleb’s lips, and he found that he wanted to chase that feeling over and over again. It was so hard to pull away, but he knew they should probably head out before the snow started falling in earnest, as he could faintly see if picking up speed through a distant window.

However, when they arrived at the lobby doors, it was just as Caleb had feared. 

Snow fell heavily outside, making a trek on foot out in the dark a potentially dangerous affair. Molly worried a bit at his lip, sighing deeply. 

“It’s coming down awfully thick out there,” Molly murmured, frowning out at the snow. 

“I can, ah… there’s another way I can get us back, actually,” Caleb said quietly. He glanced around, looking for a more secluded spot that would take them outside of the lobby guard’s line of sight. “Oh,” Molly gasped as Caleb dragged him into a secluded side room where it looked like the building’s mailboxes were kept. “Why the secrecy? Not that I’m complaining, mind. I’m kind of into this. It’s very spy movie.”

Caleb chuckled. “Oh, just you wait. What I have in mind doesn’t really need to be out of sight, necessarily, I just prefer it. Because, ah… I have a little magic, you see,” he whispered, as though he was sharing with Molly one of his deepest secrets. “Take hold of my hands tightly, and close your eyes. Sometimes this can be a bit disorienting the first time.” 

Molly took hold of Caleb’s hands as he was asked and closed his eyes. 

Caleb quickly said the incantations under his breath, gathering the necessary energy in his core for the spell. Once the words were complete, the energy expended itself and the world around them shifted in an instant, not unlike the way it might in a dream. Now, the cold returned as Caleb had teleported them just outside of his apartment door, and Molly opened his eyes wide, gasping in amazement.

“Holy shit, you can _teleport_?” Molly let go of Caleb’s hands and went to the railing to look out at the snowstorm that was still picking up a bit of speed.

“That, among other things,” Caleb told Molly as he unlocked the door again and ushered the tiefling back inside. “I did say that I was a little bit more than your average librarian. Because I trained in magic at the Soltryce University in Rexxentrum, I’m something of a valuable asset to the Cobalt Soul Archives. I can’t _quite_ talk about everything that I do for them, but it’s part of why I don’t think it will be much trouble to get ahold of tickets to see you perform if you aren’t able to spare any for your personal guests.”

Caleb took Molly’s duffel bag and helped him out of his coat once more.

“Thanks love,” said Molly with a smile. Then he paused raising one eyebrow at Caleb.

“Say, how do you prefer to sleep?” Molly asked, “I’m just curious.” Caleb shrugged. “It never really occurred to me to pay much attention to it, to be honest. I do tend to fall asleep face down and wake up on my back. Why, how do you sleep?”

Molly chuckled sheepishly, flashing Caleb a sharp-toothed grin.

“Usually, I sleep naked… so do you happen to have a guest room?” 

Caleb blinked at Molly, his brain shorting out a bit at the thought of the tiefling, just a few rooms down from Caleb, completely naked under the covers. Then he started thinking of Molly next to him in his bed, equally naked and… Caleb shook his head and cleared his throat awkwardly, having completely forgotten that Molly had asked him a question.

“I–I have a guest room,” Caleb managed haltingly. Then, still carrying Molly’s duffel bag, he showed the tiefling to a room that was just down the hall and to the left of the kitchen. “Here it is. There’s even a small bathroom with a shower attached that you’re free to use if you need.”

The guest room was simple but comfortable, as was Caleb’s usual taste in decor, much like his preferences in clothing. There were more bookshelves in here as well, along with a plush round rug on the floor and a fluffy wingback reading chair in one corner.

Caleb set Molly’s duffel bag down on the bed, which was covered in a dark maroon duvet and matching pillows. Molly flopped backward onto the bed next to it, and he sighed contentedly. “Oh, wow, this is _such_ a lovely guest bed, like holy shit,” Molly gushed, and Caleb chuckled. “I am glad you like it. Is there anything else you need before I turn in? A snack or some hot chocolate perhaps?”

Molly sat bolt upright at the mention of hot chocolate.

“You’ve got some of those little marshmallows as well, then?” Molly pressed in such a comically serious manner that had Caleb burst out laughing. 

“ _Ja_ , _liebling_ , I’ve got plenty. You get settled in and I’ll bring you some.”

Caleb left Molly to do as he liked, returning to the kitchen to put his kettle on to boil. Once the water was bubbling slightly but not quite near to boiling, he grabbed a couple of cutesy holiday mugs that Veth had bought him and he poured out two cups of the steaming liquid. Mixing in the powdered chocolate, Caleb suddenly remembered the sugar concoction that had been Molly’s coffee earlier that day, and he made sure to put in some extra marshmallows for him. 

And, just in case Molly happened to want another cup, Caleb left the rolled-up bag on the counter next to the rest of the water and the box of extra packets.

He brought both mugs with him on his way back to the guest room, where he found Molly examining some of the cat figurines that were placed in between some of the books on the shelves beneath the window.

“Oh hey,” Molly greeted him when he noticed Caleb approach, “these cat figurines are kind of adorable. Do you just–oh, hot chocolate!”

Caleb laughed and handed Molly the mug with the extra marshmallows.

“Firstly, _ja_ , I do collect them–sometimes I travel away from Zadash for work, and I try to find one every place I go, no matter how funky they look. Every cat deserves a good home. And I made sure to put extra marshmallows in yours because I remembered how you took your coffee earlier.”

Molly took a deep sip of his, making a muffled sound in the back of his throat that had Caleb concerned that he might’ve burned his tongue. Then it occurred to him that most tieflings ran hot, so it was actually probably just the right temperature for Molly.

“Oh, this is really good.” Molly licked his lips, only mostly managing to clean off some of the melted marshmallows from his face. “I’m glad you remembered the extra marshmallows. That was… that was lovely, thank you.” Caleb offered Molly a sheepish smile. “Well, that’s good. I hope you sleep well, Mister Mollymauk. There’s some more water still in the kettle on the stove if you want more, though you might have to warm it up again.” Caleb tilted his head slightly, rubbing at his upper lip with his thumb.

“Also, you’ve still got a bit of extra marshmallow… just here?” Caleb tried to point out.

Molly rubbed just under the spot and looked at his hand curiously. “Did I get it?” Molly asked, and Caleb shook his head, licking his thumb and cleaning off the marshmallow without a second thought. Then Caleb licked the substance off his fingers before he realized just what he’d done.

It seemed to have dawned on Molly as well, who was blushing profusely and giggling.

“Ah, I’ll take that as a no,” Molly laughed, and Caleb knew he was blushing too. Still, he couldn’t find it in himself to mind as Molly’s infectious laughter drew a couple of chuckles out of Caleb. “I hope you sleep well too, Caleb,” Molly said as he stepped forward. Then he leaned up and gave Caleb a peck on the forehead. It was such a quick little thing, but it made Caleb gasp and his heart flutter all the same.

Something flashed in his mind–a memory?–of a similar kiss saving him from his own mind as it was lost amidst the flames.

“Goodnight, love,” Molly whispered.

“Goodnight, _liebling_ ,” Caleb replied in kind and gave a quick little wave as he lightly closed the guest room door behind him. He stood there for a moment, thinking of that little flash of something that had passed between them just now. 

Had that been… something from a past life of his? 

Caleb shook his head, figuring it was best not to dwell on it for now. So he retired to his room, finished his hot chocolate, and after brushing his teeth and changing into a fresh pair of underwear, he put on some striped blue and white pajamas and slipped into bed. As it had the previous night, sleep once again came more quickly than expected. 

A familiar darkness enveloped him, and when next Caleb opened his eyes, he was blinking into the noonday sun with the sounds of battle surrounding him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some canon-typical violence and bloodshed in this chapter, along with past canonical character death.  
>  Don't worry though, everyone's fine, and there's also some smut. And some cockblocking, but most definitely smut.

_I’ve only ever had one love and that’s who you remind me of  
In this story that we found ourselves in_

Molly hisses and swears as the sounds of battle grow louder still around him. Out of the corner of his eye, he watches their wizard go down to the slash of an imp’s stinger, and something in Molly’s chest jolts out of fear. 

Caleb’s lights disappear as he falls face-first into the damp dirt, causing the world to briefly flash and quickly grow dark in the area around the wizard’s unconscious body. Molly growls and rounds on the nearest imp, pointing a long taloned finger in its direction as he snarls in Infernal, “ _There is nothing but death for you here!_ ”

The imp recoils, clutching its head and howling with a cackling scream of pain as its brain boils from the sound of Molly’s words.

Next to where Caleb now lay unmoving on the ground, Kylre takes a swipe with his claws at Nott. The sound of his claws smacking into and slicing through flesh as they come away wet with Nott’s blood makes Molly wince, and Nott’s cries of pain follow soon after. 

Kylre, however, realizes how penned in he is and leaps over both Fjord and Nott in an attempt to get away. Nott raises her crossbow and fires, nailing the nergalid as he flies overhead just as Fjord gets a hit in with his barnacle-encrusted blade, causing Kylre to stumble upon landing. Fear still pushes the creature forward, increasing the space between him and the rest of the fighting.

Dimly, Molly is aware of a voice shouting above the noise, calling to Kylre and yelling Toya’s name. He spots the monk holding up Toya’s tiny unconscious body, trying to get Kylre’s attention, but the nergalid is completely focused on his survival now.

Another shout snaps Molly’s attention in a different direction as he stumbles after one of the imps, and he spots Jester running past Kylre and the imp he’d just cursed not more than a moment before. Both of them just miss her, and Kylre’s claws stick into the mud with a satisfying squelch and a roar of frustration. Molly laughs as he continues to chase after his quarry, which Nott shoots at but narrowly misses, the arrow glancing off one of the nearby trees.

Seeing how close the imp is getting to Caleb’s prone form, she dives for him and covers her body with his. 

Suddenly there’s a flash of bright bluish-green light and Fjord shouting, “Eldritch Blast!” that causes Molly to turn away from the imp just long enough to see a beam of sickly energy slamming into Kylre’s back, forcing him to the ground. Blood and dirt spray up as the point where Kylre was hit burst into flames, dissolving part of his body away with a final mournful gurgle of defeat.

The sight of this causes a myriad of complicated emotions to flood Molly’s heart, but he spots the imp he’d been chasing hovering close to Caleb and Nott, its stinger held aloft and ready to strike. The fear and fury fill him more than anything else, and he casts another curse towards it that causes the imp to veer off course and attack the dirt.

Molly takes the moment of weakness to leap forward to take two swipes with his scimitars, but the imp is far faster than he anticipated, recovering quickly from his shout of Infernal. It jumps back and away from his strikes, cackling at him, taunting him so that all Molly can see is red. Then he catches sight of Caleb’s face, slack and unmoving, stained with mud and flecks of his own bright red blood, and Molly stumbles.

He cannot explain the terror that grips him, even as Jester calls out something that causes the imp closest to him to burst into radiant green and white flames.

It feels like his lungs are being squeezed in a bath of ice. Panic grips him fiercely.

Molly screams.

* * *

The sun is warm upon Caleb’s face as he hurriedly fumbles to uncork the stopper on his vial of molasses. He smears just enough of it onto his fingers before he finishes the incantations, and he feels the beat of the world pulse around him as the spell takes effect. He felt that the spell missed the mark on a few of its targets, most notably Lorenzo himself and the half-orc druid, but he knew that he'd gotten most of them.

Caleb watched from a distance as Nott ran past Lorenzo and towards the carts, pouring a bottle of oil on him as she went. 

From the top of the hill closest to Caleb, Beauregard slid down the rocky slope and landed by the druid, hitting the half-orc with two swift punches to the gut. However, even at a decent distance away Caleb can see she’s not happy with the results. He gathered that Beauregard must have been trying to stun the druid and was unsuccessful.

At the same time, the half-elf Ruzza slowly climbed up on top of the opposite hill and she locked eyes with Caleb. A spell began to form on her lips, and something icy gripped Caleb’s heart, filling his chest with the heavy sickness of fear.

As Ruzza was climbing up the hill, Mollymauk was running down it towards the carts, and he used the power of his golden scimitar to teleport to the opposite side next to one of the thugs that the Iron Shepherds had hired to help them transport their cargo. He slashed at the woman twice with his blades, blood flicking off of the bright metals as they cut deep into flesh and came away red.

It was shortly after that when Caleb became distantly aware of Lorenzo shouting something to Keg who was still up on the hill, but all he could manage to catch above the din of the fighting was, “I think the line’s been drawn…”

Lorenzo stepped forward to where Caleb had last seen Nott run towards, near the front of the second cart in the caravan. He pointed in her general direction, frost swirling about the tips of his fingers. “Hey,” he boomed, “move aside!” An arrow whizzed past Lorenzo’s head and nailed Molly in his right shoulder, causing the tiefling to cry out. 

Caleb felt the same spot on his own skin bloom with indescribably painful heat.

A noise caught his attention then, another of the Iron Shepherds that was hidden up on the nearby hill amongst the trees, and Caleb pulled back on his glove of blasting in a fit of panic. Two of the blasts caught them square in the chest before the last one went wide and dissipated in a flash against the trees behind Caleb’s attacker. Thinking it might be harder to hit him amongst the dense foliage, Caleb dove for the bushes and lay flat against the ground.

It was a good thing he had done so, because not a moment later did an arrow come flying in Caleb’s direction that he was able to shrug off with a shield spell, his heart pounding rabbit fast in his chest.

Through the gaps in the underbrush, Caleb could just make out Beauregard and Mollymauk dodging the attacks made against them by another archer and the human barbarian woman. The barbarian backed away from Molly, recoiling and wiping at her eyes, trying to rub away the effects of one of Molly’s curses.

And then Caleb felt his slow spell dissolve into nothingness, causing the spell from Ruzza to go off early and shoot once again across Caleb’s prone form. The icy fear in Caleb’s heart spilled into his gut as his shoulder continued to burn uncomfortably hot.

The druid, who Caleb assumed was the one who had canceled the effects of his spell, attempted to move away from Beauregard, but the monk was too quick for her and held the druid in place with another swift, angry punch to the sternum. That was when a blast of wind and ice flashed across Caleb’s vision and he gasped as his whole body spasmed with phantom pain. 

He struggled to see through the stars dancing across his vision, but Caleb could just barely make out Beauregard throwing another punch to the druid’s temple, sending the half-orc tumbling to the ground at her feet. Beauregard leaped away onto one of the horses, Caleb thought, but he couldn’t be certain. Someone else shouted a spell over the noise, a Hold Person incantation if Caleb heard correctly, but it hadn’t seemed to have taken effect as Mollymauk joined Beauregard on the other side of the cart, the soles of his boots landing heavily in the dirt. Caleb watched with horror as Mollymauk ran towards Lorenzo and attacked, only landing a single hit. This man, like the rest of his group, was clearly more than he appeared.

Lorenzo’s blood now spattered across the edge of the hillside, Caleb heard him chuckle as he began to advance on Mollymauk.

“Oh alright, I see what you’re doin’...” he drawled, and he brought back his glaive for a retaliating swing. Mollymauk shouted a curse in Infernal, blood streaming from his pupilless eyes, but he choked on his words and stumbled backward into the mud.

Caleb’s entire body went numb and was suddenly all aflame as the periapt at Molly’s chest struggled to activate. Lorenzo advanced, boot steps suddenly thunderous in Caleb’s ears even though he was several yards away. He lay there, helpless but to be witness to the nightmare that was Lorenzo’s glaive spearing several inches deep into Molly’s chest. 

It felt like a part of Caleb’s very soul was being torn from his body, and tears began to spill over his cheeks as he sobbed helplessly.

“Molly…” he rasped, reaching for the tiefling with a shaking hand.

Lorenzo loomed over Mollymauk, who spat a last, defiant spray of blood into Lorenzo’s face. Mollymauk weakly turned his head to look over in Caleb’s direction, their eyes meeting just as the glaive _twists_ , and something breaks inside Caleb. 

The last thing Caleb sees before his vision blackens are Mollymauk’s wide red eyes, open even to his last breath.

* * *

Molly jolted violently awake, throwing the covers into his lap as he sat bolt upright in bed, one hand pressed firmly against his racing heart. Though his naked torso is suddenly quite cold, Molly’s fingers are itching and burning something fierce. 

At first, all is quiet as he waits for his heartbeat to return to normal, but then a muffled shout comes through the thin walls of Caleb’s apartment. Molly’s pulse spikes again, not sure if what he’d actually heard was Caleb calling out or not, until the shout came again, and much louder than before. 

Molly immediately leaped from the bed, grabbing one of the blankets and wrapping it around himself as he went to look for Caleb’s room. Caleb’s apartment was thankfully not terribly large, and Frumpkin was running in Molly’s direction, twining around his legs and yowling increasingly louder as Caleb’s cries grew more frantic. He followed Frumpkin down the hall and to the left one more time before coming to a door that was slightly ajar, Caleb’s shouts transforming into shuddering sobs and whimpers of pain.

The sight that greets Molly when he opens the door is Caleb, thrashing on the sheets of a large bed. Moonlight spilled in from the window on the left, highlighting the pain on Caleb’s panicked face. 

“Caleb!” Molly shouts, moving quickly to Caleb’s side. For a moment he is uncertain of what to do, knowing that sometimes restraining someone in the throes of a night terror is something to usually be avoided, but his instincts tell him to join Caleb on the bed and hold him close, which is exactly what Molly does. 

It takes almost no time at all for Caleb to cry out, “Mollymauk!” and open his eyes wide, tears streaming down his face. He looks around the room frantically, half focused and extremely distressed until he turns around in Molly’s arms. 

The relief on Caleb’s face is so completely and utterly instant. Caleb clings even tighter to Molly, pressing his face in the crook of Molly’s neck as his sobs intensify. Molly just continued to hold him tightly, wondering what could have caused such an intense reaction. It took Molly a few moments more to remember Caleb’s words from yesterday when they were reading about consecuted soulmates, and how they would often dream of their past lives. Lives in which their soul connections were abruptly severed.

“Oh Caleb,” Molly sighed, twining his legs with Caleb’s and wrapping his tail around the redhead’s waist. Caleb shuddered as his sobs grew slowly quieter while the minutes ticked by, Molly’s neck feeling a bit of the cold where Caleb’s tears stained his skin. He didn’t dare move to wipe them away, however.

After a few more minutes, Molly gently tapped on Caleb’s back with one hand.

“Hey there,” he whispered, rubbing soothingly along Caleb’s side with his other hand. “Feeling any better yet?”

Caleb nodded. “ _Ja_ ,” he rasped, trying to find his voice after all that shouting and crying.

“You gave me quite the fright, you know.” Molly bent down to kiss the crown of Caleb’s head. “I woke up and heard you screaming. Your cat was so worried that he came to get me for you.” Caleb shifted slightly, and Molly let his arms fall away so that Caleb could get into a more comfortable position.

Instead, Caleb laid back down with his head on the pillows, staring up at Molly and looking as exhausted as Molly felt.

“ _Es tut mir Leid, liebling_ ,” Caleb mumbled, and Molly clucked his tongue.

“Tsk, tsk. In common, sweetheart, if you can.” He reached over and ran a hand through Caleb’s hair, marveling at the silky texture of it. Caleb shook himself and then shifted again into a sitting position, sighing deeply.

“Ah, I am sorry I woke you, Molly,” Caleb reiterated through a yawn. “I… dreamt of you again. It… it was not a good dream.”

Molly nodded, thinking of his own nightmare. “I dreamt of you again as well. We were fighting this giant demon frog creature and his little imp minions, and one of the imps hit you with this stinger thing and knocked you unconscious. I don’t think I realized that we were soulmates then, but… I was just so consumed by this fear you were going to die.”

“You did die, in mine.” Caleb rubbed at his eyes, wiping away a fresh batch of budding tears. “I… I could feel your pain as you were hit. As you were dying.”

“Oh Caleb,” Molly said again and reached out with open arms. This time Caleb didn’t fight him and he rolled over into Molly’s embrace. “I–I wonder if I’m going to have that same dream someday. It sounds terrifying. What hit me, exactly?”

Caleb coughed weakly into the sheet Molly still had wrapped around him.

“At first it was an arrow in your shoulder, then a blast of energy from a cone of cold.” Caleb’s bottom lip trembled as he took a slow, deep breath. “Our friends had been taken by slavers, and we were trying to rescue them. Only… you made the mistake of trying to attack their leader directly and he ran you through with his glaive after you’d fallen back unconscious from your own blood curse.”

“Shit,” Molly swore. “Past me was one helluva stupid fucker.”

In spite of his tears, Caleb snorted. That made Molly smile a little.

“As for whether or not you’ll have to see it, I don’t know. Maybe. I hope not. That was… _Gott in Himmel_. It was bad enough watching it from my end.” Caleb lay his head on Molly’s chest. “I pray you never have to experience your side of it.”

Molly hummed thoughtfully.

“You said that, in the dream, you could feel my pain. Does that mean that we were a different kind of soulmates before? Like how some people share scars and stuff?”

Caleb shrugged. “It’s possible. Thinking is hard though, and… I’m very tired, but your being here is… it’s helping, I think. Could you stay? At least until I fall asleep?” Molly nodded, kissing Caleb’s forehead again gently. “Of course, Caleb. And I think this should help too; I saw it in one of my dreams the other night.”

A low rumbling purr stuttered to life in Molly’s chest, and as he bent his head to press another kiss to Caleb’s hair, he gave a little trill in the back of his throat. Caleb chuckled, reaching for the covers and pulling them up over the both of them. 

“Gods, _schatz_ ,” Caleb breathed. “You are a wonder, thank you.” 

Molly sighed contentedly and pulled Caleb to him just a hair closer. “You’re quite welcome, love. Sleep well; I promise I’ll be here come morning.” Caleb closed his eyes and eventually, the cadence of his breathing returned to a steady pattern of deep breaths and gentle snoring. Molly suddenly felt his own exhaustion catch up with him, and he closed his eyes as well, thinking that it would only be for but a moment.

Moments later, however, Molly’s purring began to fade in fits and bursts. The warmth of Caleb’s body next to his trapped beneath the soft weight of Caleb’s quilts lulled Molly into a comfortable doze. Slowly, his purring quieted and his breathing evened out. Then finally, in the wee hours of the morning, Molly fell swiftly into a deep and restful sleep.

* * *

The first thing that Caleb became aware of when next he woke was just how very _warm_ it was. It isn’t stiflingly so, but he knows that at whatever ungodly hour of the morning it is, his heater would not be making the room as warm as it is. He isn’t terribly concerned, however, so Caleb is content to let his thoughts fade in and out at their leisure while he acclimates to the unfortunate state of consciousness. 

Eventually, his thoughts coalesced into something resembling a train of them, and the source of warmth at his back shifted and pulled Caleb closer against it. A pair of bare lavender arms wrapped around him, fingers petting slowly through his wiry chest hair. 

That was about when Caleb suddenly became wide awake and realized three more things in quick succession.

Firstly, that Molly was in his bed and was quite naked, as he had truthfully told Caleb last night such a state was his preferred way to sleep. Second, Molly’s lower half was pressed flush against Caleb’s own, and Caleb could feel the evidence of Molly’s arousal rutting sleepily against the clothed crack of his ass. And finally, thirdly, Caleb was similarly aroused and had no idea what he was going to do about it.

Caleb gingerly palmed himself with one hand and moaned softly at even the slightest touch. Gods, it felt as though he’d been aroused for hours, he was so sensitive.

He bit his lip, thinking that, surely, if he kept this up then Molly might wake up at any moment to find Caleb trapped in his embrace, awkwardly attempting to take care of his morning wood before the tiefling woke up. Though that thought just aroused Caleb further and he panted harshly in an attempt to keep from whining. Behind him, Molly began to purr very loudly in Caleb’s ear and rutted against him with more vigor and enthusiasm.

After a few minutes passed, Caleb decided just to clear his throat to wake Molly in the hopes of having a conversation with him about it. Surely the beautiful tiefling next to him wouldn’t object to a lovely orgasm first thing in the morning?

Molly stirred into wakefulness almost as slowly as Caleb had, and he leaned over to nuzzle sleepily against Caleb’s jaw. Sharp teeth gingerly nipped at his stubble, peppering him with kisses as Molly trailed up from Caleb’s chin almost to his ear. The sensation of the hot tongue against his skin had his cock twitching in his sleep pants.

Caleb swallowed, then took a deep breath to clear his throat again with a bit more force behind it, despite enjoying everything that was going on. He figured Molly should be more fully awake before he tried to do anything more than this.

“Molly. _Schatz_. Wake up, _liebling_.”

“What?” Molly mumbled, pulling away ever so slightly. “What is it, love? Is something wrong?”

Caleb chuckled. “Nein, nothing is wrong, per se, but ah, well. You’re quite handsy this morning and you were going to town on my neck and face a bit. I thought I should wake you before you did anything you might regret.”

He shifted just enough to glance back at Molly, who it appeared had suddenly realized what his body had been up to in his half-consciousness. “Oh. Oh gods,” Molly whispered. “I’m so sorry–like, fuck.” Caleb laughed and very carefully turned over to face Molly, reaching up to push back some wayward curls behind one ear and trail a finger along one of the horns that were currently bare of their sparkly adornments.

“It’s alright, Molly, I’m not mad. It happens.” He pulled his hand back to rub soothingly against Molly’s side. To his credit, Molly recovered well. “Oh, that’s–that’s great, fantastic actually, I, uh… should probably go take care of it though, I suppose.”

Molly moved to get out of bed and take a blanket with him, but Caleb stopped him by pressing his fingers into the meat of Molly’s muscled hip.

“Ah, but Molly, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Caleb began, looking at what he could see of the tiefling up and down. “I was rather enjoying what you were doing there so much that I wanted to wake you and see if, I don’t know… you wanted a nice consensual orgasm to start the day with, perhaps?”

Molly’s eyes went wide and he groaned, rolling Caleb over until he was flat on his back and his body was pressed fully against Caleb’s. 

“Are you… gods, Caleb, are you sure? Can I… can I like, kiss you and everything?”

Caleb pulled Molly’s forehead close to press against his, and Caleb could still smell just a hint of the peppermint perfume that Molly had been wearing yesterday.

“Yes, _schatz_. What in the hells are you waiting for?”

Molly surged forward to press his lips against Caleb’s, and the taste of them had to be what ambrosia was made from, as heavenly as it was. Caleb reached up to bury his hands in Molly’s hair, his hips bucking as he ground against Molly at a leisurely pace. Molly didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry to finish things either as he ran his hand up and down Caleb’s arms and chest above his pajama top, fingers lingering on the buttons as Molly leaned back and looked at Caleb expectantly.

Caleb nodded his enthusiastic consent, even relinquishing his hold on Molly’s hair to help him remove the article of clothing. Molly dropped it delicately just over the side of the bed as he drank in the sight of the soul mark on Caleb’s chest.

“You… you never said how beautiful your soulmark was,” Molly breathed, utterly transfixed. Caleb, meanwhile, was similarly entranced with the living canvas that was Molly’s skin. The peacock feathers on his face ran down Molly’s neck into a full rendering of the bird they belonged to, and a snake that threaded through lavender and snapdragons all the way down his right arm. Hints of more tattoos curled around his sides and over the shoulders, with his left shoulder being completely overtaken by a brilliant golden sun amongst a sea of curling, stylized clouds.

However, in Caleb’s humble opinion, the most beautiful marks were the flames that adorned Molly’s hands and the backs of his fingers. 

“Ah, I suppose I never did show you yesterday,” Caleb laughed softly. “It’s only beautiful because you are, _liebling_.” Caleb ran his hands along Molly’s thighs as they fell on opposite sides of his hips, and his fingers itched to reach out each time they came close to Molly’s cock. It wasn’t wide, but it was definitely long enough that Caleb knew he might have trouble taking him to the root without thorough preparation. It also made his mouth water, thinking of putting that gorgeously curved flesh into his mouth.

Molly made a dismissive clucking sound with his tongue as he leaned forward to press a kiss to Caleb’s soulmark. Where Molly’s lips touched, Caleb felt a jolt of molten heat shoot through him, and he could feel his cock dribble a bit, likely staining the front of his pajama pants. 

Evidently, Molly felt the same rush as well from the little gasp that escaped him when he pulled away.

Their eyes met, and Caleb pulled the tiefling flush against him so that they were skin to skin where their chests touched. Caleb threaded a hand into Molly’s plum-colored curls and pulled him in for another kiss just as long and languid as the last, only with a bit more tongue.

“I rather–ha, I rather disagree,” Molly panted when they finally pulled apart. “And I think… I think perhaps we ought to remove those pants of yours as well. It’s only fair that I get to see all of you since you’ve seen all of me.” Molly’s red eyes glinted in the dim light of the early morning, elevating his disheveled appearance to something more approaching celestial beauty than his hellish heritage would suggest.

Caleb huffed. “ _Ja_ , I do suppose that is fair. Remove away.” And he leaned more fully into the pillows, holding his arms out in an open invitation.

* * *

Molly’s mouth was full of cotton and salivating all at once. When Caleb had woken him up and he’d realized exactly what he’d been doing to the other whilst half-asleep, Molly had been so mortified. Still, the universe was once again extremely kind, having gifted him with an understanding–no, an enthusiastic soulmate who had just told him in no uncertain terms to remove his pants.

His fingers pulled back the sheets that had tangled around Caleb’s waist with eager trepidation. Once untangled and pulled back, Molly could see the evidence of Caleb’s excitement quite clearly near the edge of the waistband. Molly reached for it, his fingers curved delicately beneath the elastic to avoid scratching Caleb up too much, and Molly realized that he couldn’t feel anything else underneath. Molly’s cock twitched, which Caleb certainly noticed, his blue eyes tracking the movement as just a little more of the blue iris disappeared behind his lust-blown pupils.

That made Molly’s blood boil a bit too, not having any visible pupils or irises of his own. The behavior of eyes that possessed such traits, especially when influenced by things like the amount of light or arousal, had always fascinated him.

“Be a dear and lift your hips for me?” Molly purred, and Caleb swiftly obeyed. 

Molly stripped the human of his pants swiftly but was as delicate with them as he had been with the top, and he dropped it gently over the side of the bed. Caleb’s cock now in full view, Molly scooted back up to perch on Caleb’s thighs to give it a decent inspection. He held Caleb’s cock gingerly with his left hand while very gently stroking it with the backs of his fingers of his right. 

It sprung from a patch of red hair just as wiry as that on his chest, which Molly greatly enjoyed. Humans just had so _much_ of it that it was always mesmerizing. Molly had just a little bit of body hair of his own, but he’d likely never have quite this much. The cock itself was shorter than his, yet wider by maybe a quarter or half an inch.

Molly could not _wait_ to have that inside him someday.

Beneath him, Caleb twitched and gasped, his fingers digging into the sheets for some sort of purchase. 

“Oh, that’s…” Caleb breathed, trembling under Molly’s ministrations. He kept rambling, voice hitching when Molly decided to close his hand a bit more to let his fingers study the non-ridged texture of a human cock. “Gods, Molly, that feels… so good! Please, come kiss me, _mein perle_.”

Molly desperately wanted to get his mouth around that dick sooner rather than later, but perhaps just something simpler would do for this first time. It was rather early in the morning still, and he wasn’t quite up to anything that required more thought than ‘move faster’ or ‘rub harder’. So he did as Caleb asked and draped himself over the human once again, his tail wrapping around one of his legs and Caleb’s.

Caleb grabbed at Molly’s horns and pulled him in for a kiss, slipping Molly a bit of tongue. Molly moaned, the twin sensations of his horns being tugged on combined with another tongue against his curled something sharp and sweet inside his chest. 

Molly pulled away only to dive back in to press slow, sloppy kisses along Caleb’s jawline, remembering that Caleb had said he had been enjoying this before Molly had fully come to awareness. He let his teeth and tongue scrape just a bit against the stubble, and Caleb tilted his head to give Molly better access. All the while, Molly felt Caleb’s hands wandering along his sides and around his back, nails digging slightly into the skin.

“Your tongue is… is forked?” Caleb managed to ask at some point, and Molly hummed absently as he nuzzled his nose under the shell of one ear.

“It _is_ ,” Molly confirmed, giving the ear a quick lick that caused Caleb to yelp, followed by Molly’s unabashed cackling. “I do hope it’s another oddity of mine that you enjoy. Gods, I’m told being sucked off by someone with a forked tongue is truly an _experience_.” The rings of Caleb’s irises shrunk even more at Molly’s implications, and Molly could feel Caleb’s cock twitch where it was pinned between them. 

Molly, having decided that he’d like to move on from the foreplay and get to the good bits now, started nibbling back down Caleb’s jaw towards his neck and shoulders. Not wanting to pull one of his hands away from where they were mapping out the planes of Caleb’s wiry chest, Molly unwound his tail from around their legs and he shifted so that his legs were folded against Caleb’s sides and his ass was more exposed to the air.

His tail snaked in between their bodies and wrapped around both of their cocks, giving a gentle squeeze to test its effectiveness. 

Caleb’s hips bucked up and they groaned in unison. “I am betting,” Caleb struggled to manage as Molly began to move his hips and grind their cocks together, “T–That taking someone with a ridged cock is also quite the experience, _ja_ –ahhh?” Caleb’s voice cracked at one sharp twist that coincided with their groins pressing flush with one another. Molly laughed breathily, feeling their combined pre-cum smear in increasingly greater quantities with each consecutive snap of his hips.

Molly could tell from the trembling in his thighs that he was close, and his orgasm was quickly sneaking upon him. Gods, it felt so fucking _good_ but he didn’t want it to end.

“Oh yes indeed,” Molly whispered hotly into Caleb’s ear. “And I can’t wait to do all of that and more to you. With you. Caleb, you’re so–”

A sound cut through Molly’s words from beyond the room, floating in from a distance outside their little tryst. It was a familiar song that Molly had assigned to a very specific person in his contacts list.

“ _–walk, walk, fashion baby, work it, move that bitch crazy~_ ”

“Fuck,” Molly swore, his tail twitching with frustration as it uncoiled from between them. He sighed, exasperated, and he looked frantically between Caleb and the door. “I, uh, I really should go take that? I’m–I’m so, so sorry–”

“ _Schatz_ , it’s alright,” Caleb soothed, waving him off with one hand, “go, go on!”

As Molly awkwardly sprinted completely buck naked towards the guest room where his phone was, he heard Caleb distantly call after him, “I’ll be in the kitchen making breakfast when you’re done!” 

Molly was glad that he’d left his phone on the bedside table and he was able to pick it up just in time before the call switched over to voicemail.

“Essek,” Molly hissed, grabbing one of the blankets from the bed and wrapping it around himself for warmth as he sat down. “Why the _fuck_ are you calling me on Da'leysen this early in the morning?” There was a pause on the other end and Molly swore he could hear Essek blinking in surprise.

“To… see about practicing the pas de deux?” Essek eventually answered calmly, if perhaps equal parts confused and amused. “We agreed it needed some more fine-tuning. Or… have I interrupted something?”

Molly groaned softly as he leaned back and flopped into the messy blankets. He liked Essek, he truly did, but the drow was sometimes far too smug for his own good.

“Darling, the answer is yes, as it happens,” Molly confessed, hoping that his frustration at being spectacularly blue-balled was getting through just his words alone. “I connected with my soulmate rather recently and was about to have some amazing sex before you called. Can this wait a few hours?”

There was another long pause, and then some shifting of cloth on the other end.

“I… I see. Congratulations, I suppose? I’m not sure what one is meant to say in these kinds of situations.” Molly snorted out a laugh. “Uh, which one? The sex or finding my soulmate?” Essek chuckled, and Molly made a celebratory fist in the air at having pierced through the normally serious drow’s carefully curated exterior. “Both, I guess,” Essek replied, and Molly just knew he was smiling as he said this. 

Then Essek sighed deeply, grumbling a bit before finally relenting. “We really should work on it at least a bit today, but I would not mind if you came into the studio around 1 o’clock?”

“That’s fairly doable, I think,” Molly agreed. “Thanks for being so understanding, love. Though I would like an apology for unknowingly blue balling me like that.”

“I’ll go by the Traveler’s Cafe and ask for whatever Jester last gave you then, would that suffice?” 

Molly nodded even though he knew Essek couldn’t see. “Yeah, absolutely. I’ll see you at one, then. Oh, and maybe if you could get me a cinnamon muffin as well, that’d be great too.” Essek sighed again, but it was through a fond little laugh that made Molly smile.

“I’ll do that. See you at the studio, Mollymauk.” 

Molly pulled the phone away from his ear, noticing that Essek had already ended the call so he just held it loosely in his hand while he lay mostly on the guest bed. His erection had flagged a bit since he’d made the mad dash to answer Essek’s call, but he was definitely still more than a little bit horny.

Caleb had said he was going to be in the kitchen making breakfast, wasn’t he? Maybe he should go check on that. So Molly slowly rolled back off of the bed, rummaged in his bag for a pair of sweatpants, and he padded off in the direction of the kitchen.

* * *

After Molly had left the room, Caleb sat up slowly and just took a moment to process everything that had just happened.

Waking up being spooned by Molly had been wonderful. Realizing Molly was aroused and so was he… was more awkward than anticipated, but it had worked out beautifully. Being cockblocked by what Caleb had to guess was a work call–if Molly’s panicked expression was any indication–was… a bit less than ideal, but he would live.

And perhaps after breakfast, they could still finish where they left off.

Caleb was startled out of his thoughts by his own phone ringing on his bedside, a gentle chiming sound that Caleb found more soothing than the funny personalized ringtones that people like Molly did. He picked up the phone and saw that it was Beauregard calling. Caleb’s eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise. She must be calling about yesterday–he’d been so caught up in Molly that the voicemail message he’d left her had been the last thing on his mind. He tapped the answer button and put the phone up against one ear.

“ _Hallo_ Beauregard,” Caleb answered.

“Hey Caleb,” Beauregard greeted him in turn. “Got your message, sorry, I was kind of out with my soulmate yesterday and got caught up in, uh… things.”

Caleb snickered. After what happened this morning, he could certainly guess what sorts of things she had been caught up in. “Ja, I can imagine. Still, you had a good time, I trust?” Beauregard snorted dismissively.

“Anyway. What was so important that you didn’t want to tell me over voicemail?”

Ah yes, that. Well, he was going to have to tell people at some point, and Caleb refused to be embarrassed about being someone’s soulmate, let alone Molly’s. So he decided, fuck it, and he took a deep breath before he began.

“Do you happen to remember sending a lavender tiefling in my direction, about two days ago, on Folsen?”

There was a pause, and then a slow drawl of, “Yeah, he was kind of hard to forget. Why do you ask?” Caleb chuckled, hoping he didn’t come off as nervous. 

“Well, it turns out… he’s my soulmate.” 

If Caleb knew Beauregard well, her brain had just taken a moment to 404 before rebooting and she practically shouted into the microphone, “Holy shit, are you serious? Like, for real?” There was a soft slapping sound of skin against skin and surprised breathy laughter. “That’s like… all kinds of crazy! How can you tell though? He was kind of like, covered in tattoos.”

“We’re consecuted soulmates, apparently,” Caleb explained. Beauregard hummed in such a way that Caleb couldn’t immediately tell what she thought of it. “I see,” she said after another moment of silence. “I’ve heard of that. So you’ve been dreaming of a past life? What even were you? I can’t imagine you as anything other than a stuffy librarian.”

Her tone had turned somewhat jovial, which eased the knot in Caleb’s chest a bit.

“You know, I’m not sure?” Caleb swung his legs over the side of the bed and leaned over to pull out a pair of wireless earbuds from the drawer on his bedside table. “I think I was some kind of mercenary, a wizard.” 

“Huh, go figure. Never pegged you for the mercenary type,” Beauregard muttered. “Well I’m gonna let you go I guess. We can talk later? Maybe tomorrow at work. That sound good to you?” Caleb made a noise of agreement in response. “ _Ja_ , sounds good to me. I was a bit nervous about telling you, but I’m glad that I did.”

Beauregard scoffed and made a clucking sound with her tongue.

“He sounds like he really makes you happy,” she told him. “Like, seriously, I can hear the difference. It’s a good thing though, so I’m not gonna ruin it for you. You take care, Widogast. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Caleb shuffled into a pair of warm slippers and made his way towards the bathroom where he popped in to grab his bathrobe. 

“ _Ja_ , we’ll talk tomorrow, Beauregard.” 

Caleb ended the call and paired the earbuds with his phone before stuffing both the phone and the earbud case into one of the pockets of his robe. Then he made his way to the kitchen and started gathering what he needed to make breakfast. As for his lack of clothes, well. Why should he bother with underwear if he was just going to take it off again in 30 minutes?

He removed the phone from his pocket, turned on a bit of music, and set it on the counter where he knew it wouldn’t be in the firing line of any grease or stray pancake batter.

Caleb had just started mixing together the ingredients for the batter when his phone started buzzing on the counter, the gentle chimes of his standard ringtone coming through his earbuds instead. He looked over and saw Veth’s photo show up on the screen, the one of her and Yeza from their previous vacation when Caleb had offered to babysit Luc while the couple was away last summer. He tapped the side of one earbud twice and said, “Hey Trinket, answer this call,” which he quickly followed up with, “ _Hallo_ , Veth, how are all of you? To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Caleb!” Veth shrieked happily. “Yeza and Luc are making a snow halfing in this contest, and I already went sledding with our boy so I figured I should leave the two of them to it. And as for the occasion, well, I just wanted to see how you were doing! You sound… really good, actually. Are _you_ okay?”

Caleb laughed, not bothering trying to get a word in until Veth had finished chatting.

“I am very alright,” he assured her, “and I suppose since I have you here I should tell you the good news.”

“Oh? Good news?” Veth took a sip of some kind of drink and cleared her throat. “Well don’t leave me hanging here, what is it? Is it like a work thing?” Caleb shrugged even though she couldn’t see him and he continued to mix up the batter as he poured just a little bit more milk in to loosen it up. 

“It is sort of work related, but not really,” he told her honestly. “I met my soulmate at the Archive recently though, and–”

“ _CALEB_. You met your soulmate? That’s amazing!”

Caleb sighed fondly and shook his head as he pulled out an electric griddle and plugged it in, spraying it with some non-stick solution.

“I’m guessing I don’t know them then,” Veth continued excitedly, “so what are they like? Do you have a soulmark? Not everyone gets those. Yeza and I didn’t.” Caleb pulled down two plates from one of the overhead cabinets and laid them next to the griddle for an easy transfer. “I do have a soulmark, _ja_. And he’s–gods. He’s some kind of wonderful, Veth. I can count on one hand how many days I’ve known him and I’m already lost, I think.”

“That’s just how it is with soulmates,” Veth remarked sweetly. “I was the same way with Yeza. So… they’re a he, huh?”

“For the most part, I think. When we met he told me that sometimes prefers neutral pronouns too. Oh, and he’s a dancer, Veth! The Lavish Chateau cast him as the Sugar Plum Fairy for this year’s production of the Nutcracker, and I promised I would go see it. Would you and your family like to come? I think Luc would love it.”

Veth gasped quietly on the other end. “Really? Those tickets can be rather expensive this late in the season.” Caleb began pouring the pancake batter onto the griddle now that it was warm enough, and he rummaged through his utensil drawer for a spatula.

“It’s no trouble for me, _freund_. Besides, there’s still the possibility that Mollymauk will be able to get a couple of tickets as a performer, and even if not then I promise, it really won’t break my bank account any.” Caleb gingerly lifted one of the pancakes to check the underside, and, satisfied with its color, flipped it over to start cooking the rest. He repeated the same process with the other pancake.

“Mollymauk? So not a human then, I’m guessing,” Veth commented.

“Tiefling, actually,” Caleb supplied, “But really, I think you’ll like him, Veth. Frumpkin does.” Veth cackled, and as he smiled to himself, Caleb knew he’d convinced her. “Oh good, I suppose that counts for something, certainly. Well, I’m absolutely meeting him the first chance I get, you know that.”

Caleb chuckled, transferring the first of the finished pancakes over to the plates as he poured out more batter onto the griddle.

“Of course, of course. Just, you know, don’t show up at the Chateau just to harass him, _ja_?” Caleb joked with a laugh. “I like him.” Veth made a dismissive noise on the other end but eventually relented and agreed. “Oh! It looks like Luc wants to show me the sculpture they built, so… I’m gonna go! Enjoy your time with your soulmate.”

“I will, Veth. _Wir sprechen uns später_.”

Caleb reached over to the other end of the counter and tapped on the red icon to disconnect. That was when he heard the tap on the doorframe and there stood Molly, wearing sweatpants and blanket about his shoulders like a fluffy woolen poncho.

“Ah, Molly,” Caleb greeted the tiefling warmly, “I’m making pancakes! I also have some bacon but it’s only turkey bacon so I wasn’t sure if you wanted any, and apparently I only have two eggs so I could scramble them and you could have a few bites of eggs as well–oomph!”

Molly had walked up and wrapped his arms around Caleb, tilting his head down a bit for a kiss. Caleb was tempted to lose himself in Molly’s kiss, but then he remembered the pancakes and very carefully disentangled him from the mess of limbs that was his soulmate. “Molly, _schatz_! I need to flip the pancakes before they burn!” Caleb laughed. Molly returned his smile with an unapologetic grin; bright eyes glinting mischievously.

“Sorry not sorry,” said Molly with a quick wink, “but I couldn’t help myself! You look just _adorable_ wearing that robe and those slippers and…” Molly paused, his eyes trailing further down. “And nothing else, apparently? Fuck, are you _trying_ to kill me?”

“Only a little,” Caleb quipped as Molly, instead of going to sit in one of the chairs, leaned up against the countertop where Caleb’s phone sat. “I just figured, if we were only going to continue where we left off after breakfast, then why bother with pants or underwear?”

Molly made an amused sound in the back of his throat and had a moment of internal deliberation before nodding.

“I suppose I can’t disagree with that logic,” Molly agreed. 

“So how did your call go? I’m assuming it was something to do with work?” Caleb flipped over the pancakes again and transferred them over to the plates when he was satisfied. “Yeah,” Molly grumbled, “Essek was calling to ask when we were practicing the pas de deux today. I’d totally forgotten that we’d even agreed to go in.”

“Are you leaving soon, then?”

Molly shook his head. “I told him that I wanted to spend a few more hours boinking my soulmate silly, so he said it’s fine if I come in at 1pm.” Molly must have noticed whatever dumbfounded expression was on Caleb’s face because he burst out laughing and waved a hand in his general direction, clutching at his side with the other.

“Oh, gods, I didn’t put it like that! Hoo boy… I mean, all I said was I had just met my soulmate and that he’d _kind of_ interrupted something and I wanted to spend some more time with you–honest!”

Caleb shook his head as he poured the last of the pancake batter onto the griddle and then went to fetch the eggs and turkey bacon from the fridge. He put them on the counter next to the griddle and pulled down a thick disposable plate and some paper towels, layering some of the bacon in between the sheets.

“Well that’s–at least that ended well, I suppose,” Caleb responded.

Molly’s giggles subsided and he jerked his head in Caleb’s direction. “So what about you? Sorry if I’m being nosy, but I was sort of hanging around for part of that conversation you were having. Veth, was it?”

Caleb nodded an assent, setting the bacon in the microwave and pressing in a time.

“ _Ja_ , she’s a good friend. She and her husband are vacationing with their young son, Luc, out in Whitestone. It’s very pretty there this time of year, so I’m told. Lots of events are held in preparation for the Tal’Dorei holiday tradition of Winter’s Crest and I thought it was odd that she would call me when she so rarely takes such vacations. So I figured I should answer and make sure she was alright.”

“And what was that about not harassing me at work? Should I be worried?”

Caleb snorted and shook his head as he flipped over the pancakes and started cracking the two eggs on the remaining griddle space.

“Ah, no, she’s just incredibly nosy,” Caleb answered absently, before turning to bop Molly very gently on the nose. “A bit like someone else I know, only truthfully, you’re cuter when you do it.”

Molly grinned, and Caleb returned to finishing up the rest of breakfast until he felt a light smack on his ass through the bathrobe. He yelped a bit, frowning when he glanced over and saw Molly, still grinning, but with his arms crossed over the blanket draped across his chest. Then Caleb saw the lavender tail wave at him from out of the corner of his eye and he just sighed deeply.

“Careful now,” Caleb warned him playfully, “before I burn these eggs, _ja_?”

“I’ll be good, I promise,” Molly purred, which did not assure Caleb in the least. Not that he minded. However, Molly was actually true to his word as he watched Caleb transfer the last of the pancakes over to the plates and then scramble the eggs, dividing them into two neat little piles. The microwave proclaimed that the bacon was done shortly thereafter, and the two of them sat down to eat, with Caleb putting his earbuds back into their charging case.

“You spoil me, you know,” Molly said as they ate. “This is really good.”

Caleb looked at the small lake of syrup that Molly had drenched his pancakes in, and could only smile at the tiefling fondly. “Ah, it’s just standard breakfast stuff. Someday, I’ll bring you to see my parents and have _Mama_ make you a traditional Zemnian breakfast. Then you’ll see just how much I _could_ be spoiling you.”

Molly’s tail tapped nervously against one of the table legs. “Your parents, huh?”

“It won’t be anytime soon, _liebling_ , but I am absolutely certain they will love you. Especially once they know you’ve danced as the Sugar Plum Fairy! Both _Mama_ and _Papa_ have a great love of the Nutcracker, and they even once performed as part of a stage play that the town puts on for the children every year. They played the parts of Clara’s parents, I believe.”

“Oh, that’s actually kind of sweet,” Molly cooed, and Caleb smiled. “I played Fritz that year as well, if I recall. Thankfully I could not forget my own lines, but I fear that was when I discovered how woefully unprepared I was for theatre and I decided to become an academic instead.”

Caleb rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he polished off the rest of his bacon and eggs.

“Oh, my gods,” Molly wheezed. “Please tell me there’s footage of this. I _have_ to know.”

“I’m pretty sure _Mama_ has a copy of it still, if you really want to see it,” Caleb replied, now thoroughly amused. “Though if you think that watching it together will be an embarrassing experience for me, rest assured that it will not. That award goes to the time I and two of my peers at Soltryce University were caught fooling around in one of the library workrooms.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Molly looked like his brain was about to dribble out of his ears.

Caleb shrugged. “Don’t look at me like that! They were two _very_ pretty people! I should show you a picture of Eodwulf’s arms someday; the man was jacked back in the day. Honestly, I wanted to go back to the dorms and you know, use an actual bed, but Astrid was the one who convinced us she had all the proper spells in place.”

Molly just shook his head, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

“What in the nine hells do students at that university get _up_ to?” 

“Quite a few things, if you’re studying magic,” Caleb filled him in helpfully. “We wizards in particular find all sorts of interesting uses for the grease spell when there’s no lube around. Remind me to show you a few of them someday.” 

“What about today?” Molly asked in a rough, husky voice, looking up at Caleb through half-lidded eyes. Caleb felt his whole body flush under Molly’s gaze, but in a good way. He chuckled and gestured to the remains of their meal. “As it happens, I have some really nice lube that we can use instead for this morning if you’d like. Just dig around in the drawer closest to the window and you should find it, but I will show you that grease spell some other time if you’re very, very good.”

Molly shivered where he sat, and Caleb flashed him a predatory grin of his own.

“Let me clean up in here and I’ll join you very soon, _ja_? Go and make yourself comfortable and I shall be right behind you in just a moment.”

* * *

Molly ran back towards Caleb’s bedroom, though he made a pit stop by the guest room to toss the blanket and sweats he was wearing onto the bed; going stark naked the rest of the way. He climbed up on Caleb’s bed, crawling over to the opposite side to reach the second bedside drawer, and proceeded to rummage through its contents.

There was indeed a bottle of lube in the back of the drawer along with some condom packets and what was at first glance a ridged purple dildo… until Molly caught sight of the charge port on the flared base.

Molly pulled out the lube and set it amongst the messy blankets and bedsheets, while he also put one of the condoms on the table next to a box of suspiciously convenient tissues. He paused a moment before closing the drawer, deciding to pull out the vibrator at the last second. Molly reclined into the pillows, holding the vibrator in one hand and turning it over. 

“Oh, found that did you?” Caleb said from the doorway.

Not having heard Caleb approach, Molly yelped a bit, dropping the vibrator. Caleb grinned, but mercifully did not laugh. “Uh, yeah, it wasn’t hard to miss,” Molly shot back as Caleb kicked off his slippers and went into the bathroom to presumably hang his bathrobe up again.

“When did you even get this?” Molly shouted in Caleb’s general direction, picking up the vibrator and giving it a second once-over. “You didn’t even know me until two days ago!” 

Caleb exited the bathroom fully nude, and suddenly Molly’s eyes couldn’t help but zoom in on the peacock soulmark, wandering further down the human’s fuzzy happy trail to his already half-hard cock. Caleb clicked his tongue and chuckled, shaking his head. 

“Hey now, my eyes are up here,” Caleb joked, joining Molly on the bed as he snickered.

“Alright, fair, but you’ve really got a beautiful dick. It deserves looking at. Shortage of perfect dicks in this world and all that. Also trust me, when I say something like that, you know it’s true because I think my dick is pretty amazing.”

Caleb’s lips quirked up in a quick smile as he leaned over for a kiss, with Molly turning his head to meet Caleb in the middle. Molly melted into it instantly, feeling a rush like he hadn’t taken a truly deep breath in days. When Molly pulled away, he felt a purr start rumbling within his chest and he huffed softly.

“You didn’t answer my question about the vibrator, you know.” Molly held it up for Caleb to see. Caleb reached up to take it, gently prying the device from Molly’s fingers with a smile on his lips. 

“You’re right, I didn’t.” Caleb’s cheeks were glowing brightly with a deep, rosy blush that Molly found adorable. “Honestly? I’ve had it for awhile, since shortly after I moved here to Zadash. Perhaps it was my past life influencing my preferences.” Caleb laughed sheepishly, and Molly giggled in return. “Gods, you’re just too cute,” Molly said, giving the human a quick peck on the tip of his delightfully sharp nose. “But you know, we don’t have all day… I do have somewhere to be in a couple hours.”

Caleb flashed him a devilish grin that had Molly suddenly wonder who exactly was in charge of this conversation.

“Oh, I was getting to that, _schatz_. I was merely going to ask if you wanted a brief demonstration of my favorite little toy first before we got started. Does that sound good to you?”

Molly’s breath caught in his throat and his tail skittered wildly beneath the bedsheets. Caleb chuckled, his eyes glancing in its direction. “Your tail certainly agrees. How about it, Mister Mollymauk?” 

Gods, this man was going to kill him, thought Molly as a rush of heat flooded his body.

Molly nodded dumbly and Caleb politely asked, “Would you mind handing me the lube?” as he held out a hand. Once Molly deposited it into Caleb’s palm, Caleb swiftly swung one leg over Molly’s hips so that they were in a reverse of the position they’d been in earlier that morning. 

“May I–” Molly croaked, coughing a bit, “May I touch you? I’m so wired right now I don’t think I can keep track of my tail.” He laughed nervously, and Caleb ran a soothing hand along Molly’s side. 

“Ja, feel free to touch whatever, including yourself. This isn’t a scene; it’s just us, though that’s definitely something we can talk about later. Besides, I, ah…” Caleb ducked his head as the blush on his face spread to his neck and was making its way down his chest. “I want to watch you too. To learn how you like your pleasure as I show you how I like mine.”

“So show me then, Mister Caleb,” Molly breathed, his hands automatically going to massage the lean flesh of Caleb’s pale thighs.

Caleb caught his gaze under half-lidded eyes that were so captivating, Molly almost forgot he was meant to be watching Caleb’s hands. The vibrator had been set aside at some point during that whole exchange, and Molly couldn’t rightly remember when. It didn’t really matter though as Caleb flicked open the cap of the lube with his thumb and spread a generous dollop of the stuff on the fingers of his other hand.

He reached behind himself and Molly almost lamented that he couldn’t see the stretch of Caleb’s puckered rim from this position, but the subtle twitches on the planes of Caleb’s face were a good substitute. Caleb gasped, a quiet, clipped little thing that meant he must have already found that little bundle of nerves.

Molly reached up with both hands to explore the human’s chest, fingers trailing through the wiry ginger hair and marvelling at its texture.

“How many fingers did you start off with, Caleb?” Molly asked, thumbing at Caleb’s nipples until they stiffened and colored into a flushed, dusky red. “Just the one? Or are you impatient and you used two?” Molly’s tail decided to emerge from under the blankets and he let the spade of it trail up and down the line of Caleb’s spine, even briefly dipping into the crack of his ass.

“Just the one, at first,” Caleb panted, “but I’m putting in a second now. I–I thought about starting with two because I am… eager to get on with things, _ja_ , but… usually when I do this… I like to take my time.”

“Would you let me prep you sometime? Once I get my nails trimmed, that is.” He let his talons lightly scratch along Caleb’s torso, drawing a low moan from the man. “This show you’re putting on is lovely, and I know I’m supposed to be touching myself, but all this makes me want to do is put my hands on you instead,” Molly confessed.

Caleb hummed in what Molly could only guess was acknowledgement. 

“Starting in on a third,” Caleb groaned, throwing his head back. When he looked down once more, his long hair ruffled and spilling over his shoulders, Molly was just… utterly lost. “Touch yourself for me?” Caleb pleaded, and Molly was helpless to resist such a request. He silently asked for the lube from where it was still clutched in Caleb’s hand, who let Molly take it without resistance so that he could slather his right hand in slick.

Normally Molly prefered to lie back, close his eyes, and let his imagination take him wherever it liked, but he doubted it could do better than the vision that was currently perched atop his thighs. Molly still lay back to recline amongst the pillows, however, and as he grabbed his cock to stroke it from half mast to full, he kept his attention on Caleb.

Caleb hissed as he removed his hand, and reached for a tissue from the box nearby.

“Handy, that,” quipped Molly. Caleb smirked at him but only chuckled in response.

Caleb pulled back to the kneeling position, and it was only just not that Molly realized how red and aching he was. “Are you sure you can take that vibrator for long?” Molly teased. “You look nearly ready to burst there, love.”

“Oh, I can take it plenty,” Caleb assured him, swiping up the ridged silicone cock and slicked it all over with a generous amount of lube, positioning it behind him. It did take Caleb a moment to get it just right –”Usually I’d be lying down for this, but I’m feeling unusually spontaneous today,” interjected Caleb before Molly could comment on it– and as he gently pressed the head just past the rim, Molly could feel Caleb’s thighs tremble.

A low whine escaped Caleb as layer after layer of ridges disappeared within him, his cock leaking profusely onto Molly. “Gods, please turn that thing on and come kiss me,” Molly pleaded. Two beats later, the dildo fully sank into Caleb with a satisfying squelch, and with a breathless smile, Caleb obliged. 

Molly could hear the buzzing of the vibrator, and his own cock gave a reflexive jerk at the sound. 

Caleb, on the other hand, shuddered bodily in pleasure before doubling over and landing on half on top of Molly. Pushing himself up on his forearms, Caleb smiled before grinding their cocks together. It was fucking _electric_ ; Molly’s hands reached up to bury themselves in Caleb’s hair, pulling the human in for a kiss as the spade of Molly’s tail teased at the edges of where Caleb’s asshole and the vibrator met.

Like before, the world around them slowed until all that existed was the two of them and their pleasure. Even knowing that he had to be somewhere later wasn’t enough to spur Molly into a frenzy. 

“Do you think you could get off like this?” Molly asked Caleb as the human rocked against his hip. Caleb blinked out his daze, tilting his head to consider it.

“Probably,” Caleb answered, “though if I’m being honest I’d rather replace this with your cock instead. Just to make sure it’s as good as you say it is.” The base of Molly’s spine pulsed with heat, and he swallowed. “Well, what are you waiting for? Toss me a condom and I’ll be more than happy to show you.”

“You seem plenty happy to show me already,” Caleb snorted, pulling himself away and grabbing Molly’s cock with a quick twist and pull. Molly’s hips jerked up involuntarily as he chased the feeling that spasmed along his spine, but Caleb had let go to remove the vibrator from his ass with a poise that seemed to be too relaxed for a man supposedly deep in the throes of sex. “And you are far too composed,” Molly tossed back as he caught the condom Caleb threw at him. He wanted to tear the package with his teeth, but he decided to be careful about it and opened it as the package instructions dictated. “I guess getting blue-balled by your soulmate’s coworker does wonders for the stamina?”

Caleb snorted, turning off and placing the dildo over a fresh tissue on top of the bedside table. “Something like that,” he said with a wry grin. “Or maybe I just _really_ enjoy edging, _schatz_.” 

Molly slid the condom over his cock, hissing a bit as his own touch caused tingles to run along the nerves of his body. “Something to remember for another time, perhaps after a very long conversation,” Molly mused. “So, how do you want to do this?”

Caleb’s grin widened even more, and suddenly Molly found himself being pinned to the bed, cock gently resting in the crease of Caleb’s ass. Molly could feel the head just kissing the puckered rim of Caleb’s entrance. “I think this will suffice,” Caleb told him sweetly, loosening his grip enough to make it quite clear that Molly was free to protest or move at any time.

“Unless you have any objections?” Caleb added.

“Gods no, please, have your wicked way with me, my dear wizard,” said Molly almost immediately in response. Caleb’s grin transformed into a soft smile, his eyes crinkling at the edges. He leaned down to capture Molly’s lips in a tender kiss, and then guided Molly’s cock inside.

He was so woefully underprepared for how this would feel, if Molly was being honest with himself. Even having had fooled around before, having his cock inside another person was incredibly intimate, and almost overwhelming. 

Still, he felt full to the brim with emotion despite Caleb being the one receiving.

“Are you alright, _liebling_?” Caleb asked when he was fully seated. Molly blinked, and suddenly he realized he was crying, though he could not be sure why. His soul felt light and anxious all at once, but seeing Caleb’s face grounded him once more. Molly nuzzled both sides of Caleb’s nose, eyelashes fluttering butterfly kisses along Caleb’s cheeks.

“I am now, darling,” he whispered in one ear, content for the moment just to have the human so close. “I just needed a moment. Go on and take your pleasure at whatever pace you like, just let me hear you.” 

Caleb’s eyes widened slightly at those words before softening, and Caleb leaned up to press a kiss on Molly’s brow, one hand moving to brush away the remaining tears.

“As you wish,” said Caleb with almost reverence.

He sat back on his haunches again and, grabbing Molly’s hands in his, placed them upon his chest as he rose. Then, in a slow, rolling motion, he fell back on Molly’s cock until he was seated in his lap once more. Molly gasped at the heat that pulsed through the soulmark on his fingers.

“Caleb,” he gasped, “tell me you _feel_ that, Caleb.” 

Caleb could only manage a nod in response. The peacock on Caleb’s chest felt warm too, and with each of Caleb’s gasping breaths, it moved like a living creature, curling protectively over his wizard’s heart.

After a few more thrusts, Molly could feel that tingling at the base of his spine that warned of his approaching orgasm. 

“Don’t stop,” he told Caleb, still clutching tight to the human’s hands, “I’m close.”

Caleb nodded. “Ja, so am I,” Caleb huffed in response, doubling down in his efforts. The soft little gasps became breathy cries and impassioned moans, loud enough for Molly to wonder if perhaps they might be causing trouble for Caleb’s poor neighbors, though only for a moment. He hadn’t time enough to worry about that before Caleb let go with one hand to reach for Molly’s tail to give the base of the spade a solid tug and then–

Molly arched up into Caleb with a yelping shout, tail flailing about in Caleb’s grip as he came. Impulsively, Molly let go of Caleb’s hand with one of his own to reach for Caleb’s cock and give it a quick tug, and his wizard tumbled after him with a cry of relief, streaks of white spattering over Molly’s lavender chest.

They turned over on their sides, Molly’s cock still buried in Caleb. Grabbing a tissue, Caleb dabbed at the mess he’d made of Molly, even while he continued to hold the other’s hand.

After a few more moments, Caleb finally cleared his throat to speak. 

“So, that was really something, huh _schatz_?”

“Like nothing else I’ve ever experienced,” said Molly in response. “Hey, I should probably like, pull out soon so I can get cleaned up? I mean, I’m really digging this super intimate thing we’ve got going on, but you know. Cold cum in a condom is not a great feeling.”

Caleb laughed and nodded, scooting back a bit so that Molly could pull out and then tie off the condom, tossing it in the trash.

“Gods, first weekend I’m able,” Molly groaned, “I’m absolutely getting tested. Like, I know I’m clean and I’m sure you are too because you know, look at you–but still. I’m so looking forward to doing that bareback in the future.”

“ _Ja_ , same,” echoed Caleb. “Those ridges felt incredible, but I simply must experience them without a thin film of plastic between us.”

“And I’d kind of like to try that dildo at some point if you don’t mind. After you clean it, of course. You looked like you were _really_ enjoying yourself there.” Molly sighed happily and reclined on the pillows, hands behind his head. Caleb chuckled. “Sure, sure. I should warn you though, once you go Blink, you never go back.”

“Blink?” Molly queried.

Caleb gestured to the vibrator on the table. “That’s the brand’s name. It’s based on the blink spell, where you basically vibrate so hard you wink out of existence into another plane entirely. It’s kind of amazing for their marketing, actually.”

“I’ll have to take your word on that,” said Molly. “So… we’ve still got some time before I need to be at the studio. Is there anything you needed to do today or…?”

Caleb considered his words for a moment. “I do need to go grocery shopping, and if you want to be sticking around more often, then it might be best if we make a trip together.” Molly’s tail thumped excitedly on the bed. “Shopping, with you? That does sound exciting.” Caleb looked Molly up and down, a touch of a familiar hunger creeping back into his eyes.

“That will unfortunately require putting on some clothes,” he told Molly seriously. 

Molly scoffed. “Clothes. The bane of my existence, honestly. Well, I suppose if I must, I shall hide the rest of my gloriousness from the world if it means I get to spend more time with you, darling.”

“Before you get up to do that though, hand me your phone, if you please? So I can put my number in.” Caleb gestured to the table on Molly’s left. “Mine is right next to yours, if you want to put yours in, though you’ll need to hold it up to my face first.” Molly sat up and reached over, and picked up the phones. He unlocked his for Caleb and then had Caleb unlock his.

“Oh, your background photo is absolutely _adorable_ ,” Molly cooed. “Frumpkin wearing that holiday sweater is just too precious.”

Caleb looked over and laughed. “ _Ja_ , that was when I went to see my parents last winter and _Mama_ insisted we have him try it on. I thought he’d hate it, but I guess since I have him harness trained he didn’t think too much of it. He hated the booties, though.”

Molly threw his head back and cackled. “That’s kind of amazing. Oh, right, I’m supposed to be doing a thing.”

“ _Nein_ , it’s fine, just send me a text if you’d like.”

They exchanged phones and Molly sent him a quick kissy face of his Tiefmoji. Caleb’s phone made a soft little text chime as he received it. “I’m assuming the kissy face is you then? They’re making these more accurate every year, I swear it,” Caleb muttered as he added the number to his contacts.

“Still can’t quite get the horn charms right though,” Molly complained. “But yeah, I’d say you can make a pretty accurate avatar with those ‘moji things.” He yawned, stretched, and let his tail waggle about a bit. “I guess I should go put on my clothes so we can head out. Meet me back at the couch I guess?”

“Ja, sure. Don’t take too long, or I may have to come looking, alright?” 

Molly laughed when Caleb winked at him, and Molly walked back to the guest room, still completely naked yet feeling more refreshed and lighthearted than he’d ever remembered being in the entire three years of his current memory.

His overnight outfit wasn’t anything fancy, just some warm cream colored slacks and a black long-sleeved turtleneck with silver moon phases sewn into the edges of the fabric. He’d also packed a dark purple scarf with gold accents to match with the silver and gold of his horn charms.

Molly packed everything up but left the bag still in the guest room as he walked out and sat down on the couch to fiddle with his phone some more. Eventually he heard Caleb shuffling in his direction, and Molly stood up to greet him. 

Caleb’s trend of comfort continued with black jeans and a dark blue cardigan with brown snowflake patterns threaded in. “How do you just stay so fucking cute all the time?” Molly couldn’t help but ask, to which Caleb merely shrugged. “It must be an effortless talent,” he replied, putting on his coat.

“Now we should hurry before the roads get too busy,” Caleb said, handing Molly his.

“We’re not taking the bus or teleporting?”

Caleb shook his head. “The bus routes on Da'leysen don’t start for another hour or two, and while I _could_ teleport us there, coming back with all of the groceries might be something of an issue.”

“Ah, I see,” Molly said as he took his coat and put it on, buttoning it up before throwing his scarf around his neck.

“Thankfully,” Caleb continued, “I do have a car in the complex’s parking that I use for when I do my shopping, as I typically also take the bus to work like you. It’s a bit of a luxury, but it’s useful for when I want to go across the city and I don’t have time to wait for a bus, like now.”

“That _is_ useful,” Molly hummed thoughtfully as they stepped outside. “Though depending on how long it takes us, I might not get to help you put them away.” 

Caleb just shrugged as he locked the door, and once again linked his arm with Molly’s as they walked down the stairs. “That’s fine, schatz. If we run late a bit, you can just call me or text me when you’re done, and we can go from there. We’ve got time.”

It was then, as they were getting into Caleb's modest silver sedan, that Molly realized that his wizard had a point. 

While Molly cooed over Caleb’s love of classical music and folksy holiday tunes, he felt that for the first time in a while, he could breathe a little easier. Even without proof, Caleb’s confidence that they had all the time in the world was somehow… enough. He couldn’t explain why, but something about their being together felt right in a way that Molly just didn’t have words for.

Perhaps words simply weren’t necessary. For though Molly didn’t quite believe it yet, a small hope fluttered in his heart. Like the peacock on Caleb’s chest, it curled up in his soul and whispered to him that as long as he had Caleb, everything would be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those of you in the Widomauk discord who gave me suggestions for Essek's ringtone, I thank you. It was a tight race between that and Ice Ice Baby, but that particular lyric from Bad Romance won out in the end. It was too perfect to resist. 😆


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recommend listening to The Nutcracker Ballet for most of this one, but specifically [the ballet overture](https://youtu.be/2m7_OyrG08c) as well as the [pas de deux](https://youtu.be/p66JpB4Ngjk) and the [Waltz of the Flowers](https://youtu.be/9LEZA9IQDDs). 
> 
> Also fun fact, this and chapter 6 used to be one whole thing! But then it got away from me and I needed to split it up. For reasons.

_Maybe in one hundred years, one million laughs, one million tears  
We will have a clearer view, this wasn't about me and you_

_A FEW WEEKS LATER…_

“ _Mama_ , please,” Caleb protested as his mother reached up to adjust his bowtie for what felt like the thousandth time. “I think it’s quite straight enough now.” 

She shook her head, sighing and clicking her tongue, brushing a lock of her reddish brown hair behind one ear. Then she moved back and gestured to Caleb while looking back at her husband, exasperated. “Leofric! Tell your son his tie is crooked.” Caleb caught his father’s eyes and gave him a pleading look, which caused Leofric to laugh.

“Una, leave your son be, his tie is fine. Besides, we should be heading to our seats now. We don’t want to miss the orchestra performance before the ballet starts.”

Leofric smoothed down the lapels of his own tuxedo and winked conspiratorially at Caleb, who offered him a grateful smile. Una adjusted the hem of one sleeve on the soft grey coat she wore over her simple black evening gown.

“Ah, both of you!” Una exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. “Alright, alright, I suppose you do have a point. We can fuss over ties for pictures afterwards.”

Caleb offered his arm to his mother, who took it gracefully. “You’ll find that Mollymauk is exceptionally composed at all times,” he told her teasingly, “no adjustments to his attire shall be required. I don’t know how he does it, but honestly he makes even sweats and a blanket poncho look like formal dinner wear.”

Una chuckled. “I think that’s your soulmark talking, _liebchen_. I am looking forward to meeting him properly, though. He has been a delight to talk to over video chat this past week.” Privately, Caleb agreed with her, knowing he was perhaps embellishing Molly’s natural beauty a bit, but he also knew that he couldn’t help himself. 

“I know, _Mama_ ,” Caleb agreed, turning down one hallway and leading his parents up a short set of winding stairs. “And did you happen to find that recording of the stage play from that one year? Molly keeps asking about it.”

“I found it, actually,” Leofric chimed in helpfully. “It was on a VHS tape of all things. I went ahead and had it digitized since I highly doubt either of you still have a receiver to play it on.” Leofric clapped Caleb on the shoulder and laughed heartily, which Caleb returned shortly thereafter. “Oh, Molly certainly doesn’t,” Caleb confirmed. “I might have one in storage, but I doubt I have a monitor I could connect it to.”

He paused for a moment to think, and then continued, “The TV in my apartment only has HDMI ports, so I’d probably need some VCA to HDMI cable if one even exists.”

Caleb paused at a door with a window looking into a private box with a gilded number 9 affixed over the top of the ornately carved wooden frame.

“Ah, this is it,” Caleb muttered, opening it and ushering them inside. 

“We’ve got a private box, son?” Leofric asked curiously. “I know the Cobalt Archive pays a pretty penny to have a Soltryce trained wizard on their staff, but I didn’t think it was quite that much.” He stroked his thick beard, looking about the space and the people already seated there.

Caleb first spotted Jester, sporting a sparkly silver-blue long sleeve dress with a modestly plunging neckline and a bright green scarf. She was sitting right next to a flustered looking Fjord and an amused Caduceus, the firbolg immediately noticing Caleb and his parents as they entered. He tried to discreetly point them out to the tiefling, but unfortunately with Jester there was no such thing as subtlety.

Jester turned around in her seat and gasped, getting up to run over and hug Caleb tightly. “Hi Caleb!” She greeted him cheerily. “I’m glad you found Mama’s box okay!”

She pulled away and at last noticed Leofric and Una standing next to him.

Caleb put a hand on Jester’s shoulder and gestured to his parents with the other. “Ah, Jester, this is my mother, Una, and my father, Leofric. _Mama_ , _Papa_ , this is one of my friends, Jester Lavorre, and this box actually belongs to Jester’s mother, who is one of the founding patrons of the Lavish Chateau.”

Leofric nodded curtly as he closed the door to the box behind him. “I see. A pleasure to meet you, Miss Lavorre.” He offered Jester a hand, which she took at a gentle prompting from Caleb. 

“It’s so good to meet you,” said Jester as she offered an adorable little curtsy. “Caleb said the other day when he stopped by for coffee that he was so happy when you told him that you wanted to come see Molly perform on opening night.” Caleb chuckled sheepishly, ducking his head. “Ah, _ja_ , I suppose I might’ve mentioned that…”

Una giggled behind a hand she daintily held up to her mouth.

“That does sound like my son, yes,” Una agreed, and Jester beamed at her.

“Mama won’t be joining us in the box tonight though because she’s going to be sitting with my dad instead.” 

Caleb raised an eyebrow as he turned to her. “Your… dad?”

“You know,” she leaned in, stage whispering to him, “The Gentleman?” Jester pulled back to what seemed like a more acceptable distance for two people to stand apart from one another. “Mama did say to keep it a secret, but it’s also kind of a secret that everybody knows about so I don’t know why they’re both trying to hide it, exactly.”

“It’s probably because people like having the illusion of privacy even when everyone can see the truth of things,” Caduceus rumbled as he somehow just _appeared_ behind Caleb, who jumped a little. Caduceus put a hand on Caleb's shoulder and chuckled deeply. “Sorry about that. Say, Jester, would you mind keeping Fjord company? I wanted to introduce myself to these lovely folks here.”

Jester nodded sharply and quickly said her goodbyes before returning to Fjord’s side. Though Fjord was clearly wound up sitting next to a being of such boundless energy as Jester, when she placed her hand on his arm he had this soft look in his eyes like he was staring at the most precious gift in the world.

“ _Hallo,_ my tall friend,” Leofric addressed Caduceus, extending a hand to the pink-haired firbolg as well. “And you are?”

“I’m Caduceus, Caduceus Clay.” He took Leofric’s offered hand, and the two men clasped forearms briefly before parting. Leofric nodded approvingly as Caduceus also offered Una his hand, and she shook it as well, marvelling at the texture of his fur. “Oh, you have such soft hands, Mister Clay,” she cooed at him, giving him a quick once-over.

“And you dress so smartly, too!”

Caduceus laughed, clasping his hands behind his back as he looked down at the floral patterned linen jacket he wore over a light sea green waistcoat, ruffled white dress shirt, and dark teal slacks.

“I’m glad you think so ma’am,” Caduceus thanked her, and then glanced back at where Jester was chattering away to Fjord. “The half-orc is my partner and soulmate, Fjord. Apparently he’s blessed with not just myself for a mate, but also our excitable tiefling friend as well, so he’s been dealing with that this evening. It might be best to just let him approach you when he’s ready, since I’m sure all of this is… a lot.”

Una sighed sympathetically, putting a hand to her chest as she followed his gaze toward the pair. “Ah yes, I can remember the day that Leofric and I met. What a whirlwind that was! I cannot imagine having two such people in my life, but of course the research behind soulmates often changes and we’re learning new things about them every day.”

“So we are,” said Leofric, nodding in assent. Then the older man paused and stroked his beard again thoughtfully. “Say, you wouldn’t happen to be the same Caduceus who makes the wonderful tea that my son sends us from time to time?”

Caduceus’ long ears flicked back as he grinned.

“Oh yeah, that’s probably me. I do custom blends too if you’re interested in that sort of thing before you head back home.”

“I just might.” Leofric cocked his head slightly in Caduceus’ direction. “You wouldn’t happen to know some good blends that might pair well with alcohol?” Cauduces shook his head, shrugging. “I don’t drink, but my sister Calliope does. I can ask her and see what she thinks would pair well… what sorts of alcohol do you have in mind?”

“Ale,” answered Una, Leofric, and Caleb in unison. 

Then they all laughed and Caleb grasped Caduceus’ arm for support, wiping away tears as he clarified, “Ah, just tell her that he is Zemnian and she will probably know at least a few things, but ale is always a good start, ja.”

There was a knock at the door behind Leofric, and not seeing anyone in the window Caleb was almost certain he knew who was on the other side.

“Ah, that will be Veth, I think,” he said, moving to open it as Una pulled Leofric aside.

“I’ll head back to my soulmate then,” said Caduceus, already turning back. “I’ll call Caleb when I’ve got an update from Calliope!” Leofric laughed, calling after him, “ _Ja,_ I look forward to it!” as Caleb opened the door. Almost immediately he was clasped about his legs by a giggling halfling boy that couldn’t be more than four or five years old, nearly falling over in the process.

“Luc!” A woman’s voice called after the boy admonishingly. “Don’t knock Caleb over!”

Caleb scooped up the curly-haired halfling, propping him up on one hip and ruffling his wild auburn curls a bit. “Oh, it’s alright Veth, he’s fine. Aren’t you, _mausebär_?”

“Yeah mama, I’m fine!” Luc echoed, but Caleb shushed him. “Best we use our inside voice so we can hear the music properly, _ja_? Ok?” Luc nodded excitedly, and at last Caleb set him down once Yeza and Veth had properly entered the box so that he could close the door behind them. “Ah, hello Caleb,” Yeza stammered sheepishly. “Sorry, he’s just a little excited. Never been a place this fancy before, you see.”

“It was awfully kind of you to pay for their tickets, _liebchen_ ,” said Una, patting his shoulder. “It was nothing Mama,” Caleb insisted. “I had already told Veth I was going to anyway when I first told her that Molly was my soulmate. And you’ve always told me it’s bad form to go back on a promise.”

Una nodded in agreement, a soft, sweet smile gracing her lips. “Indeed I did. Also, that little suit is just too cute. Wherever did you find that, Yeza?”

“Oh, one of our friends made it actually!” He answered cheerily. “Her name is Calianna, and she runs one of the little boutique shops in the city, uh… not too far from the Traveler’s Cafe, I think. Usually it’s hard to get on her waiting list because she’s a very popular seamstress, but I know her through my work.” He fished out a card from one of his pockets and handed it to Una, who looked it over and then pulled out her phone, presumably to write down the information on it.

“Also apparently she and Veth have coffee together a lot,” Yeza continued, unable to keep from talking with his hands, “so… she squeezed us in and made all of us some new things for the occasion when she heard we were going to see the premiere.” He gestured to Veth’s fluffy pink dress, coat, and accessories, as well as his own modest suit with a cream colored shirt and a royal blue tie for color.

Una nodded absently as she put her phone away and handed the card back to Yeza.

“I might just see if I can’t get on her waiting list then, because those clothes are quite well made.” She turned to Leofric, who eyed her warily. “What are you planning, _schatzi_?” He asked her, raising an eyebrow in her direction.

She laughed and shook her head, gently punching his shoulder.

“Nothing like what I am sure you are imagining, _dummkopf_. It’s just that our 35th anniversary is coming up next year and I thought we could go out to dinner somewhere in fancy clothes. Make a night of it.” She sighed happily and offered him a tender smile, which he returned eagerly.

Leofric leaned over and kissed Una on the cheek, which caused her to blush and giggle.

It warmed Caleb’s heart to see his parents so happily domestic. He also wondered idly if he and Molly might still be just as in love with one another thirty-five years down the road.

The house lights above them flashed once, and a hush fell over the crowd.

“Ah,” Leofric exclaimed softly, “I suppose we should take our seats soon. Do we have everybody?” Caleb frowned. “Not quite. Beauregard seems to be running–”

The door to the private box opened again, and in walked Beauregard wearing her Cobalt Soul robes followed by the woman he had come to know as her soulmate, Yasha. “Sorry, sorry,” Beauregard apologized, panting heavily. “Got tied up fighting with the valet in the parking lot but it’s ok now. Did we miss anything?”

Caleb shook his head, smiling fondly at his friend.

“ _Nein_ , you just made it. The house lights flashed a bit ago so it should start very soon now.” He offered an arm and Beauregard clasped it, bringing him in for a quick hug before she looked back over to Yasha, who looked resplendent in her dark, sparkly gown and overcoat, if a little awkward. Caleb reached over to pat her arm gently.

“You’re looking lovely tonight, Yasha. Thank you so much for coming.”

She smiled at him and let out a breath Caleb was certain she hadn’t been aware she was holding. “I’m glad to be here. This role has meant so much for Molly’s recovery, so I am glad to be here to see where all of his hard work has gotten him.”

“Ja, same. I hope you enjoy the ballet too, it’s a wonderful story; one of my favorites.”

Once more, the house lights flashed twice above them, signalling that the performance was starting very soon. “Ah, I should go take my seat now,” Caleb told Yasha as he turned to join his parents in the front row of the private box’s limited seating, Yasha joined Beauregard in the row behind him with Jester, Fjord, and Caduceus, while Veth sat to his right with little Luc in between her and Yeza.

The house lights dimmed completely, and the program announcer welcomed the audience to the performance. Meanwhile, a gnome wearing a bright purple coat with gold accents carefully made his way onto the conductor’s platform and waited patiently for them to finish. Once the room was near completely silent, the conductor raised his baton and held it there briefly before signalling to the orchestra to begin the overture.

Caleb watched with utter delight, not having seen a performance of the Nutcracker like this in years. The costumes were bright, the music lively, and the dancers well practiced with deep, honest expressions.

When it came time for the pas de deux, Caleb’s heart felt like if it could, it would race right out of his chest in eager anticipation. The music began to play, gentle harps strummed a cascade of notes in the air around them as violins summoned forth a smooth, familiar tune. That was when Caleb saw a drow wearing the costume of the cavalier, beckon to someone on the other side of the stage.

From beyond the curtain, Molly danced forward with grace, clothed in a white bodiced classical tutu with delicate, long silver sleeves that glittered under the stage lights. The fabric of it bounced as though made of clouds or cotton, and even at a distance, Caleb could tell that the makeup department had gone all out for him. All of his visible tattoos and even the flames of the soulmark on his fingers were integrated into his character, flashing under the lights like the curling silver crown studded with gems that had Molly’s plum-colored curls delicately pinned beneath its weight.

The music held Caleb in place, but it was Molly’s dancing that held him captive.

Cradled firmly in the drow’s gentle grip, he guided Molly across the stage, at one point holding up the tiefling on display for all to see, Molly’s long tail curled around his arm for support. It was a testament to the drow’s skill as a dancer and their chemistry as partners that while both occupied the space, it was clear that this was Molly’s dance.

Caleb had been witness to many of Molly’s moments of true happiness since their meeting and over their month long courtship, but watching the tiefling twist and glide with peerless ease was truly something else. He was quite certain that the flood of joy blossoming from the soulmark in his chest belonged to Molly and Molly alone, though Caleb was deeply honored to be allowed to share in that joy.

Eventually the time came for the dance to come to a close, the cavalier first bowing deeply to the Sugar Plum Fairy before they joined hands and danced off stage while the orchestra transitioned to the next scene.

The performance continued to captivate, holding Caleb’s attention until the very last note, but when asked later what his favorite part was, his answer would of course be Molly’s performance in the Sugar Plum Fairy’s pas de deux. Once the dancers bowed to the crowd and the curtain fell as the house lights went up, Caleb turned behind him to speak with Jester.

“Would you happen to know where I could find Molly? I cannot imagine the house security would let just anyone in to see the performers, soulmates or not.”

Jester shook her head and took his hand yet said in reply, “I don’t think I can get you in, but Mama probably can! I know which box she’s sitting in!” Caleb looked to his parents and friends and beckoned them to follow. “I do not know how many of us she will be able to let in to see him, but I think it is worth a shot. I did not tell him that so many of us were coming to the premiere; as far as I know, the only ones he knew about were myself and Veth’s family. I wanted to surprise him.”

“That sounds like a fine gesture,” Fjord chimed in, having found his voice at last over the course of the evening’s performance. “If Jester’s mother can get us in to see him, he would like that, I think.”

So Jester tugged on Caleb’s hand and led him out of the private box, a small retinue of their party following close behind. 

They stopped at another door marked with a gilded number six across the top.

Just before Jester was about to reach for the door handle, it opened, and out stepped a beautiful red tiefling with long, braided hair and elegantly curved horns, wearing a deep scarlet dress and ashen furs. A tall, dark-haired water genasi stood behind her, his expression at first surprised but quickly shifted to amusement at the sight of Jester, Caleb, and their guests. Jester gasped, quickly letting go of Caleb’s hand.

“Hi Mama!” Jester greeted the woman, who embraced her daughter eagerly as the little blue tiefling ran up to her and hugged her tightly.

“Hello, my dearest,” Marion greeted Jester in return. “I trust you all enjoyed the show?” 

She looked up at Caleb and winked, and Caleb could feel his face flush with heat, though he nodded and pushed past it. “ _Ja_ , Miss Marion, I did. I do not speak for my parents or my friends, but I believe they did as well.”

“That’s good to hear,” she told him sincerely. “And I suppose you are looking to see your beloved? I am sure he will be absolutely over the moon to see you all.”

“All of us?” Caleb repeated, not daring to hope. “Could you perhaps get us all in to see him? I wasn’t sure if that would be too much to ask.” He looked pleadingly into Marion’s golden eyes, and she offered him a kind smile which eased the tension in Caleb’s heart.

“I can certainly get all of you backstage, though of course only you can enter his dressing room, since I do believe he shares that with Essek, and too many in such a space at once will encourage too many questions.” She turned to the genasi and handed him her spare program. “Darling, will you see to what we discussed earlier? I will come find you later. At least when we’re done surprising one of my favorite dancers and I’ve gathered up everyone who wishes to attend.”

“Of course, my precious Ruby,” he responded, taking one of her hands and pressing a quick, delicate kiss to her fingers before turning and disappearing down the stairs.

Marion’s gaze lingered on his retreating form, her feelings for him quite plain on her face even as she returned her attention to her guests. “Alright, follow me now, I’ll take you backstage to see your dear Mollymauk.”

* * *

Molly sighed happily as he fell back into the makeup chair in the changing room he shared with Essek. He felt almost like he wasn’t quite tethered to his body, but in the best sort of way. That… whole thing had really just happened, hadn’t it? And it was going to happen again, and again, and again…

Out of the corner of Molly’s eye, he watched as Essek removed the crown from his head and began very carefully taking out the pins holding his hair in place. 

“So how do you feel about tonight?” Essek asked him offhand, as slowly his snow-white locks fell back into place. Molly smiled at him, elation and contentment filling his entire soul. “Oh, Essek,” he sighed again, “I’m feeling so many things all at once, but mostly I’m just… really, really happy.”

Essek paused and looked over at Molly, his usually aloof expression morphing into a warm, gentle smile.

“It makes me happy to hear that,” said Essek serenely. “You’ve worked so hard, and honestly, I’ve never had a better partner.” Molly scoffed and turned the chair’s back to Essek so that Molly was kneeling in it and facing the drow. “Alright, now you’re just saying things!” Molly flashed Essek a devilish grin. The drow chuckled, shaking out his hair once it was freed from the last of the pins.

“No, I’m being honest, Mollymauk,” Essek eagerly insisted. “No one would know you’d ever been in an accident with the way you danced tonight.”

Molly shook his head but turned around and slid back into his chair with a final happy sigh, clutching at the feathered chest of his costume. “Ah, if you say so,” Molly relented at last, and he began humming a few bars of the pad de deux’s melody until there was a gentle knock on the door of the dressing room.

“Who is it?” Essek called back, carefully running a makeup remover cloth over one side of his face as Molly looked up in the direction of the door.

“It’s me, dears,” came Marion’s voice from the other side. “I have someone special here to see Molly and I was wondering if now might be a good time?” Molly gasped and sat up straight, immediately barking out a quick, “Yes! Gods, yes please let him in!” that was answered with a high, tinkling laugh. 

“Alright, alright, go on in, sweetheart. I should go attend to your guests while they wait.”

“ _Ja_ , thank you Miss Marion–”

“Think nothing of it,” Marion gently cut him off, a smile clear even through her voice alone. “Anything for a friend of my Little Sapphire. Now go on, don’t keep him waiting!”

The door handle turned and Molly’s wandering tail snapped against the back of the chair. When the door opened slightly and Caleb stepped through, looking unfairly handsome in a sleek black tuxedo and bowtie with just a splash of lavender at his coat pocket for color, Molly could not help but fall in love all over again.

Molly only just barely managed to wait for Caleb to close the door behind him before he leaped from his chair and ran the short distance between them to hop up into Caleb’s arms. His wizard startled for only a moment, probably not quite expecting the jump, but thankfully Caleb was much stronger than he looked and he was able to hold onto Molly with little trouble.

Molly carefully nuzzled into Caleb’s neck, being mindful of his horns which were still decorated in the silver costume jewelry. A loud purr started up in his chest, and Caleb laughed, tilting his head just enough to press a kiss to Molly’s forehead. A throat cleared itself nearby, drawing the pair out of their little reunion. They both looked up to see Essek smirking at them from his mirror, clean-faced and tossing a thoroughly stained makeup remover cloth into the nearest hamper.

“So,” Essek drawled, looking Caleb up and down, “you are the famous Mister Caleb. You’ve got such quick reflexes that you might just be able to give me a run for my money, I should think.”

Caleb chuckled and very gently released Molly back down onto the floor. 

“Ah, nein,” Caleb responded haltingly, a soft blush dusting his cheeks, “I highly doubt that, though I thank you for the flattery. My reflexes are mostly meant for catching heavy books when they fall off of library shelves and only occasionally exuberant lavender tieflings.” Essek laughed and nodded his assent. “Indeed. Regardless, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Essek Thelyss.”

Essek extended a hand to Caleb, who shook it firmly.

“Caleb Widogast,” said Caleb in response. “And while I am perhaps a little biased in saying that Molly stole the show tonight, your performance was no less exceptional for it.” Essek ducked his head and he chuckled sheepishly. “Ah, you are too kind. However, while you are indeed perhaps a little biased, it is Mollymauk’s determination and honest work ethic that are the cause of tonight’s success.”

Essek paused, frowning a moment before it appeared that he suddenly remembered something. 

“You know, I wasn’t originally planning to attend tonight’s post premiere dinner, but I think I’d like to now.” He offered the pair of them a wry smile. “Mollymauk is always telling me I need to get out more, so perhaps tonight will be a good time to test that.”

“Oh right!” Molly exclaimed, quickly turning to Caleb. “I was going to surprise you, but that dinner starts really soon I think so would you mind helping me into my dress?” Molly removed the silver crown from his head and started taking out the pins in his own hair as more glitter fell onto his shoulders. Caleb chuckled and hovered nearby, muttering, “Ja, alright, though helping you _into_ your clothes will certainly be something of a learning experience for me, I think.”

Across the way, Essek snorted, bringing a smile to Molly’s lips.

“You’ll be fine,” he gently admonished his wizard, considering his makeup in the mirror. It wouldn’t be too much trouble to put new stuff on, though his skill wasn’t nearly to the level that their makeup department’s artists were. He looked over at Essek. “Hey, if I removed my makeup, do you think you could help me put on some new stuff to match the dress I brought in? Or is this fine?”

Essek glanced over, tilted his head, and considered his question for a moment.

“Oh, I think you’re fine,” Essek assured him, “I just removed mine because I have a tendency to forget to wash it off in the evenings and let me tell you, that glitter blush does not do you any favors come morning.” 

Molly snorted as Caleb helped him remove the last of the pins and out of his tutu. He handed it to Caleb to hang up onto the rack for dry cleaning as he disappeared behind a nearby curtain. He heard the familiar sound of a hanger clacking against the metal bar of the clothes rack and then Caleb moved to follow him. However, at the last second Molly popped his head out from behind the fabric to offer Caleb a quirky grin.

“Actually, I still kind of want to surprise you? Perhaps we can practice you helping me into something nice another time.” He pressed a quick kiss on the end of Caleb’s long, sharp nose, which earned a quick laugh out of the man.

“Very well, _schatz_ ,” Caleb conceded with an indulgent smile. 

“Another time then. Surprise away, but let’s be quick about it, there’s other people waiting to see you out in the backstage lobby.” Molly’s eyebrows shot up at that. There were people waiting for him outside? Molly thought for a moment before remembering that Caleb had also brought Veth and her family to see the premiere. He’d met the halfling and her husband, but not her son who Caleb had said would be here as well, so that was probably who he meant?

Molly shrugged as he quietly put on some of the nice underthings that he was hoping Caleb might like if things got frisky when they went to bed later that night. Then he clipped on some sheer, lacy stockings and pulled the dress off the rack that he’d taken great pains to keep from seeing Caleb before tonight. He stepped into it, slipping his tail through the custom commissioned slit in the back before zipping it up and stepping into the soft golden heels that he’d bought to match.

“Alright, you can open your eyes now if you’d closed them,” Molly called as he stepped out to show Caleb.

The dress Molly wore was of a partially sheer material, cinched in at the waist with a strip of gold fabric, covered in silver thread and sequins from the mid thighs to just below the clavicle. From there, the sequins spread and fanned out along the shoulders and sleeves, completely separating from one another all along the layers of golden fabric on the bottom half of the dress. The silver sequins and thread also formed a kind of collar around Molly’s neck, and he spun around for Caleb so that the dress could shine in the bright lights of the dressing room mirrors.

When Molly finally stopped spinning to catch sight of Caleb’s expression, the poor wizard was absolutely gobsmacked. His blue eyes sparkled with reflections from the sequins, and his mouth was slightly open, lending a kind of childlike wonder to his already soft expression.

Molly stepped up to Caleb and gingerly took the wizard’s face into his hands. He brought Caleb down for a kiss, taking a moment to truly savor the experience, which Molly was certain he would never grow tired of. Caleb’s arms wrapped around his waist, and he held Molly close even as they parted to breath.

“You are absolutely radiant, liebling,” Caleb breathed. 

“Thank you darling,” Molly replied in kind, reaching up to fold a few stray hairs behind one of Caleb’s rounded ears. “Now just let me put on some new horn charms and I’ll get my coat so we can go see Veth and her family. I’m excited to meet little Luc after all that’s been said about him.” Caleb gave Molly a wry smile that made him pause, like the man was planning something, though he couldn’t be sure what.

“Are you leaving your other clothes here for the night?” Caleb asked as Molly was putting in the silver moondrop earrings that connected to the delicately carved caps on the ends of his horns. “Oh yeah,” he replied distractedly, “I’ve done it before sometimes after practice. They’re in a locked bin that I can come by for tomorrow or whenever I’m able. So there’s no need to swing back around after dinner and we can just go straight home.” He turned around briefly to wink at Caleb who blushed deeply, though with a slightly hungry look in his eyes.

Molly also clamped some silver bands inlaid with topaz around the curves of his horns, and once he was satisfied they were securely in place, he glided over to one of the racks where a long, flared coat of gold-dyed wool was hanging. He stuffed his phone in one pocket and his clamp wallet in the other, put it on, and then turned to Caleb.

“Alright, I’m ready,” Molly told Caleb brightly, and then he leaned over to catch sight of Essek as the drow was beginning to remove the dark blue fabric of his costume. “So we’ll see you at dinner, Essek?”

Essek looked over and gave Molly a curt nod and a smile. “Yes, I’ll be there.”

“Sweet, let’s go say hi to some people, Caleb.”

Caleb offered him his arm and Molly took it graciously, holding his wizard tight against his side. They left the dressing room and walked at a brisk yet leisurely pace down the hall to the backstage lobby. Molly looked over at Caleb, who seemed incapable of holding back a smile.

“Alright, something’s going on,” said Molly. “C’mon, tell me. What is it?”

Caleb laughed and patted Molly’s arm dismissively. “Ah, I’m just excited for you to meet Luc, is all. He’s gotten bigger than I last saw him, I swear!” Caleb grinned and kissed Molly’s cheek, but some glimmering mischievousness still lingered in the wizard’s eyes which told Molly that Caleb wasn’t quite telling him the whole truth. Still, it warmed his heart to see this playful side of Caleb, and he was sure that his clever wizard was looking to surprise him with something truly special.

When they entered the backstage lobby it was still relatively empty of people with but a few performers, stagehands, and orchestra members coming and going around the edges of the area. However in the center of the room, a group of people stood chatting amicably with Molly’s favorite of the Chateau’s patrons, Marion Lavorre. She, along with another, much taller familiar face, were among the first to notice their approach.

“Oh! Hey there Molly,” Caduceus gasped happily with a little wave of one of his long fingered paws. 

The rest of the group turned around in the direction Caduceus had waved, and among the group Molly could see Fjord and Jester standing _very_ close to one another, as well as Yasha and her soulmate Beau. Veth and her husband Yeza stood off to the left a bit along with an adorable little boy that _had to_ be Luc.

Molly was overcome with emotion at the sight of all his friends gathered together, here in the Lavish Chateau. They were all dressed up so fancily, likely having just come down with Caleb after having watched the ballet’s premiere, and of course Molly’s dances as the Sugar Plum Fairy. He could feel tears prick at the edges of his eyes, and he regretted not having picked up one of the packs of travel tissues from his bag before they’d left the dressing room.

“Oh, gods,” Molly laughed wetly, desperately trying not to cry, “this is–wow. I didn’t expect to–oh. _Oh_.”

That was when Molly noticed the two other people in the group who were standing next to Marion. One was a matronly woman with mousy brown hair held up in a net of pearls, wearing a gray coat not unlike Molly’s over an elegant evening gown, and the man next to her in a well-tailored suit with a familiar strong nose and bright mane of ginger hair tied back in a ponytail who also sported a decently thick beard and mustache.

Both of them had Caleb’s eyes. 

“Oh, it’s you!” Molly gasped, letting go of Caleb so he could run up to Una, though he stopped short of hugging her as he paused, feeling equal parts awkward and excited to see her. “Oh, please, Una–can I hug you? Please?” Molly begged, his tail waving anxiously behind him.

Una laughed and held out her arms for him. “Yes, yes! Come here and give me a hug, _Spätzchen_ ,” she replied, a wide beaming smile blooming on her lips the moment she’d seen him.

Molly eagerly accepted her invitation and he swooped in for a tight hug. He was a little surprised that such a small woman could have such strength in her, at least until he remembered that Veth was standing not too far away, which caused him to laugh when they parted. Una smiled, the kind of smile that crinkles the edges of someone’s eyes as she reached up to put a hand to Molly’s cheek, wiping away the tears that had finally fallen.

“You give such wonderful hugs, Molly,” she told him sweetly, “Oh, don’t cry–here, I’ve got some tissues, hold on.” She dug into her purse for a partially used packet of travel tissues which Molly took gratefully, though he had just finished dabbing at his eyes when he noticed Leofric extending a hand to him. Molly took it as he stuffed the remaining tissues in his pocket, not expecting the larger man to pull him in close for a proper bear hug that left Molly nearly overwhelmed with emotion.

“Oh, sir!” Molly laughed breathlessly when they parted. “I–oh. I’m… quite at a loss for words. Why… How are you even here? Not that I’m complaining, mind, it’s just…” Molly trailed off and looked back at Caleb who was grinning from ear to ear.

“This was all your doing, wasn’t it?”

Caleb chuckled as he gave a little half shrug. “Technically their being here,” Caleb replied, gesturing to Leofric and Una with one hand, “that was _Mama_ ’s idea, but _ja_ , I wanted to have all of our friends come see you dance. I gave _Mama_ and _Papa_ two of the three tickets you gave me, and I bought some for everyone else.”

Molly turned back to Leofric and Una, still struggling a bit to string together enough words to form a proper sentence.

“And–and you!” Molly pointed to Leofric, “I was convinced that you weren’t the hugging type, but… I guess having secretly good hugs is where your son gets that particular trait from.” He gave a tittering chuckle as Leofric smiled and shook his head.

“Ach, _nein_ , I do usually prefer handshakes over hugs, so my son absolutely gets that from his mother, not me.” Leofric insisted. “You struck me as a very tactile person though, so I figured I should make an exception for you.” He paused for a moment more before adding, rather sternly, “Also please, none of that sir business. Call me Leofric.”

“Oh,” Caleb said quietly next to Molly with a start, “I also should thank Jester for convincing Miss Marion to let us use her private box to make the night even more special.” He gave a polite nod to Marion, who gracefully inclined her head in return. “It was my pleasure. I am glad to be able to help enhance the magic of such an enchanting evening.” Her golden eyes lingered over Molly, and then she smiled at him as well. “As for you, my dear, your dancing was spectacular. Though I must remember to pay your makeup artist a visit because it holds up amazingly well through all those happy tears.”

Molly laughed, still wiping away a few strays that kept getting away from him.

“It does indeed,” Molly agreed. “I believe their name was Bryce?”

“Bryce Feelid? Oh yes, I do know them. Amazing work. I simply must convince the head of that department about giving them a promotion, or at least a raise.”

Marion mused to herself for a bit as Molly turned to the rest of his friends.

The little halfling in the adorable tiny suit who _had_ to be Veth and Yeza’s son, Luc, pried his hand from his mother’s and he toddled over to Molly and looked up at him with wide eyes. “Oh…” Luc breathed out a sigh of awe. “You’re really pretty. And purple.”

Molly laughed as he very carefully knelt down on one knee in front of the boy.

“I am indeed quite purple, yes,” he concurred. “Would you like me to pick you up?” 

Luc’s little face lit up and he nodded sharply, holding out his hands. Molly laughed, easily scooping up the tiny child and placing Luc on his hip. “Ah, see? Is that better? You can see for miles, can’t you? What if someone even taller than me held you, like Yasha? Or Caduceus? That’d be amazing, wouldn’t it?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Molly could see Caleb watching him with a quiet fondness before Una tapped on his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Caleb blinked at her, seemingly surprised, but he smiled at her and replied something that Molly couldn’t quite catch over little Luc’s eager chatting. Still, Caleb had been right about him though, he was an absolutely adorable child. It… almost made Molly want to have one of his own someday.

With a soft sigh he patted Luc’s shoulder and told him brightly, “Hey now, I’ve got to put you back down, but I’m really glad I got to finally meet you. Did you enjoy the show?”

“I did, I did!” Luc shouted before Yeza hushed him as Molly knelt back down. 

“What did Mister Caleb tell you, Luc? You’ve got to use your inside voice in a place like this, ok?” Luc pouted at him but nodded reluctantly at Molly’s gentle urging. “Your da’s right,” said Molly encouragingly, “In a place like this, your inside voice is best. Did you happen to have a favorite song?” 

“I liked the ones where you were dancing,” the little boy confessed shyly, a small smile tugging at the edges of his lips. “And I also liked the lady with the big dress?” Molly nodded in approval. “You know, that’s how you know you’re watching a more genuine production? Most other arrangements don’t have her because they think she’s, ah… in poor taste. Still, her being there is part of the story, not that any of what I’m saying makes any sense to you, I’m sure.”

Luc shook his head, which again made Molly laugh, but he couldn’t continue to kneel for much longer in the dress he was wearing, so he stood, wiping off some nonexistent dust from his front.

“I suppose we should head to the banquet hall now then?” Molly asked Marion. “I know that’s starting soon and–oh! You’ll never guess you agreed to come eat with us tonight?”

Marion smiled at him knowingly. “It can’t be Essek, can it? Did you finally manage to convince him that he needs to spend some more time with people who aren’t his coworkers?” Molly’s tail waved behind him in short excited little snap as he flashed a toothy grin. “Actually, I think it was Caleb.”

“What did I do now?” Caleb asked, confused as he stepped up next to Molly, putting an arm around his waist and bringing him in close. “Oh, I was just telling Marion that Essek was coming to the dinner tonight and he only said that he was going to come _after_ he met you. He must think you’re super interesting or something.” Caleb made a dismissive noise in the back of his throat and leaned over to press another kiss to Molly’s cheek.

His wizard was so incredibly affectionate tonight, and Molly was simply ecstatic.

“I’m glad you reminded me of that though,” Marion remarked, looking about the group.

“I wanted to officially extend an invitation to you all to the post-performance celebratory dinner that the Lavish Chateau is hosting for the performers and all of the ballet’s staff. I know most of you are neither of those things, but not everyone comes to these sorts of events anyway, so I really must insist. The food and drink might go to waste otherwise.”

“Just as a personal question,” Caduceus chimed in, “you wouldn’t happen to know if there will be vegetarian options? And non-alcoholic drinks?” Fjord cleared his throat to add, “Cad’s _had_ drinks before, but he rather prefers not to. It’s something of a lifestyle choice, as is his desire to abstain from most meats.”

Jester gasped and patted at one of Caduceus’ shoulders eagerly.

“I don’t like to drink either! I’ve never met someone else who just… _preferred_ it that way! That’s kind of cool, actually.”

Caduceus smiled at her and brought Jester in for a hug as Marion laughed. “Oh, no need to worry about that. Our staff come from many races and walks of life, so I am certain you will be able to find something on our menu that you’ll like. Is there anyone that would like to head out early for the evening or shall we all be going together?”

“I would like to come,” Yasha piped up, raising a hand. She looked over at Beau. “I was hoping you would like to maybe join me? If you wanted?” Beau playfully nudged Yasha’s shoulder with one of her own. “Yeah, of course! It’s free food; not a chance in the Nine Hells I’m turning that down.” Yasha chuckled and shook her head before offering a sheepish smile to Molly across the way.

Molly grinned and winked at her in return by way of his approval.

“I think we might have to leave the dinner a little early in order to put Luc to bed on time,” said Yeza, much to the disappointment of the aforementioned child, “but I think we can stay for a little while as well, can’t we Veth?” Veth nodded in agreement. “I mean, we came to watch Molly dance, but there’s always room to have some good food and conversation after a night like that.” 

“Oh, you’re too sweet,” Molly sighed happily, putting one hand to his chest as his tail did little figure eights in the air behind him.

“And we shall stay as well,” declared Leofric, looking at his wife, who nodded in assent as she too moved to stand arm in arm with her soulmate. “I could not miss a moment more to spend some more time with you in person, Molly,” Una added. “Though I think my husband only wishes to stay in order to sample whichever of the finest ales the Chateau intends on offering tonight.”

Leofric grumbled at that when everyone laughed, and Una genially tapped him on the chest with her other hand. “Come now, you know I’m right!” she insisted, and when Leofric did not immediately refute her claim, the group burst into laughter again.

“Ah well then,” Marion cut in smoothly after their laughter had died down, “so it’s settled. The banquet hall we’re using this evening is upstairs because there was a rather unfortunate bear incident that occurred a few weeks ago that has the downstairs hall still under repairs for the moment, though it’s just as lovely.” Molly squinted at Marion and tilted his head curiously. He simply had to know more about that bear incident… though perhaps that could wait until later when he wasn’t still riding high on the serotonin of his performance. 

Marion turned around and gestured for the group to follow. “Follow me now, doves. The stairs are this way, and if anyone needs the elevators instead they’ll be right nearby.”

They followed Marion through the small maze of the Chateau’s back hallways until they finally came to one of the grand staircases where a pair of elevators also awaited them. All of the group preferred to ascend the stairs after her along the right side, however, and it was just a short left and then a right a little further down the hall to where a set of double doors opened up into a beautifully decorated ballroom and banquet hall.

Round tables covered in white tablecloths, each surrounded by a number of chairs wrapped in red fabric, lay scattered across the edges of the room and left the middle open for dancing and milling about. A few of the orchestra players and even the gnomish conductor had set up directly across from where their group had entered, and they were entertaining the guests with a bit of live music. Large glass doors on the far right side were opened to the night outside, showing a few available balconies in the bright lights of the city beyond; perfect pictures of serene winter quiet.

Molly felt his tail get away from him again as he stepped forward, marvelling at the beautiful decorations around them. 

Garlands threaded with bright red ribbons and bows were strung along the golden cream colored walls, as well as the many gorgeous decorated evergreen firs sporting dozens of bright red and gold ornaments in their branches. Even the fine dining sets placed on each spot at the tables were fitted in gold cloth napkins to match the occasion, and little pots of poinsettias sat at the center of each table.

Molly gently squeezed Caleb’s arm wrapped around his, looking back and forth between his wizard and their surroundings. 

“Look at it all,” Molly breathed in awe. “Everything is so pretty, like in all of those cheesy holiday romance movies.”

“It’s truly a wonderful evening, _ja_?” Caleb agreed in a hushed whisper as he directed them in the direction of the side with the glass doors, searching for the perfect table. Molly nodded, having lost his words for a bit, though he allowed his tail to do the talking for him. It slid along the backs of Caleb’s legs, and for once Molly was careful to mind the traitorous thing so that it didn’t send both of them tumbling to the floor.

They found an open table close to the glass doors, which thankfully had enough seats for the whole group, though Marion declined when Jester offered one to her.

“I suppose you’ll be sitting with Dad, then?” Jester inquired. 

Marion inclined her head to her daughter gracefully. “Once he gets around to finding me, that is. Though we won’t be far.” Her eyes lingered on a chair tucked under a nearby table with a suit jacket draped across the back and two ballet programs laid on top of the plate set in front of it.

She sat down in the chair to the right of it and gave a coy little wave with her fingers.

“See, my Little Sapphire? I won’t be far.”

Molly smiled fondly at the exchange, not noticing that Caleb had released his arm to pull out one of the chairs from the table. An “Ah, Molly?” caught his attention and there was Caleb, waiting for him with his fingers delicately curled over the front of the chair’s back, his expression fond and expectant. 

“Oh, sorry!” Molly laughed, walking over and taking the offered seat. Caleb took the seat to his right, and then Una and Leofric on Molly’s left. 

Their friends filled in the rest of the seats of the table, with little Luc sitting directly across from him, the poor boy just barely able to look up over the top of the table. “Can–Can we get Luc a booster seat or something?” Molly wheezed, desperately trying hard not to laugh. Marion signalled to someone who came over and brought a halfling sized booster seat so Luc could comfortably see everyone at the table. Veth pushed his chair in close so that he could reach his silverware for when dinner arrived.

A half-elven server with long, silky dark hair pulled back in a complicated braid stopped by their table and gestured to the menus placed on their plates. A blue feather was pinned to the breast pocket of his vest, right next to a nametag that read: Vax’ildan.

“Have you had a chance to look at what you wanted this evening?” Asked the server, smiling warmly at the group. “Or, if you’re still deciding, I can take your drink orders instead.” Molly hummed to himself as he looked over the listed drinks. “Oh, Vex–sorry, Vax’ildan, I’d like a glass of water and some champagne if you don’t mind?”

The server laughed and typed it into the tablet he carried with him. “Absolutely, and it’s alright–that happens all the time. My twin sister’s named Vex’ahlia, so it happens often, you’re good. Though please, call me Vax. People only call me Vax’ildan when I’m in trouble… or my soulmates, but in an entirely different context of trouble.” Vax’ildan winked and went clockwise around the table until he had everything, including a fruity virgin cocktail that Jester had managed to get Caduceus to try. He swanned off to parts unknown to fetch them while they decided on their meals.

In the interim, Caleb gently nudged Molly’s side with an elbow.

“So how are you _schatz_?” Caleb asked him over the growing din of conversation. Molly looked out at their group of friends and family, and a familiar swell of warmth tingled in the soulmark on his fingers. “I’m just… over the moon,” he answered honestly, turning his body towards Caleb. 

“Tonight has been amazing, a dream come true. Especially knowing that I get to continue dancing as the Sugar Plum Fairy for at least the next few weeks… it’s still a little surreal.” Molly sighed. “I do feel a little guilty that I’ll be leaving you all alone in the apartment most evenings but… knowing that I get to come home to you helps a lot.” Caleb reached up to brush some of Molly’s curls behind one pointed ear as he leaned over to capture the tiefling’s lips for a quick kiss.

Across the table, Jester giggled as Beau grumbled something about public displays of affection, but neither of them were listening. 

“If I could, I would watch the show a thousand times over as long as I got to see you dance again,” Caleb breathed, his blue eyes so very bright and full of adoration. If it were anyone else, Molly would accuse them of simple flattery, but this was Caleb. His _soulmate_. “Of course you would,” Molly teased, “so I hope to make it worth your while afterwards.” Caleb chuckled darkly and leaned over to whisper in his ear, “Oh, I am looking forward to that, _liebling_.”

“Alright, enough with the canoodling over there,” Leofric grumbled good-naturedly.

Una chuckled. “I think what my husband means is that our dear server is coming back around so I hope you’ve figured out what you want to eat.” She winked at Molly, who felt his face burn with a deep blush. 

Indeed, Vax’ildan was back with their drinks and once again took everyone’s order. 

“Oh, they’ve got goose breast with potato dumplings,” Caleb muttered into his menu before catching the half-elf’s attention. “Ah, I’ll have the goose, if you please.” He leaned over to Molly and pointed at an item on Molly’s menu. “I recommend trying the roast pork. It’s a Zemnian dish that I think you’ll like.”

“I’ll have that then,” Molly piped up when Vax came around to take his order. 

Just before Vax’ildan was about to move over to the table next to theirs where the mysterious Gentleman had joined up with her at last, a delicate hand tapped upon the half-elf’s shoulder to get his attention.

“Pardon, I’m sorry for the interruption,” Essek inclined his head to Vax’ildan, “but could you add a glass of pinot noir along with an order of the chicken alfredo to that? I promised my dance partner I would be joining him and his friends for dinner this evening.” Molly smiled brightly when he caught sight of Essek, who gave a little wave as he sat down gracefully in between Caleb and Yasha.

Vax’ildan nodded and typed up the extra order without complaint. “Of course, it’s no trouble. Would you like a glass of water with that as well?”

“Oh, yes please. Thank you.”

Vax’ildan moved onto Marion’s table as, across from Essek, Molly could see Jester perk up excitedly if the sharp snapping back and forth of her tail behind her was any indication. She waved back at Essek and grinned toothily, flashing her tiny fangs.

“Hi Essek!” Jester chirped happily. Essek inclined his head to her with a tiny smile tugging at his lips. “Hello Jester,” he responded in a more relaxed tone, though he was clearly no less pleased to see her. “It seems the world is rather small indeed, if you happen to also know several of Mollymauk’s friends from your little coffee shop,” he mused, and then introduced himself to the rest of the group.

“I am Essek Theylss, Mollymauk’s dance partner for this year’s Nutcracker Ballet. I was… originally not going to come tonight, but I think some of his spontaneity must be rubbing off on me as I had the sudden desire to act upon his insistent claims that I ‘needed to get out more’. So I am glad to know that I am not quite among complete strangers this evening, as I had originally feared.”

Next to him, Yasha tilted her head curiously. “So you are from Xhorhas?” she asked in a quiet, polite voice. Essek’s eyebrows rose a bit in surprise. “I am indeed, though I guess that you do not assume that simply because of my name?”

Yasha shook her head. “No, I just recognize the accent. It’s been a long time since I last visited the capitol, but it’s… very distinct.” Essek nodded. “As is yours, though I would gather you’ve been living here in the Empire for some time. I wouldn’t mind perhaps having a chat with you later about your time there, if you’re amenable.”

“I would like that,” Yasha told him sincerely. 

Molly smiled, glad to see that two of his best friends were getting along so well, and he was especially glad to see that Essek was finding his stride within their little group.

As Essek continued to chat amicably with the rest of them, Molly turned to Caleb’s mother when she cleared her throat and gently tapped him on the shoulder to ask, “Say, have you had authentic Zemnian food before, dear?” Molly looked over at Caleb, who was blushing a bit, and he chuckled. 

“I’ve had some, thanks to your son. Although, he says that his cooking cannot compare to yours, and that one of these days we shall have to go up north to visit you so that you can prepare a proper Zemnian feast for me.” Una laughed at this, as did Leofric, who laughed and put an arm around his wife, placing a wet kiss to her temple.

“Indeed, there is–at least in my humble opinion–no one better at that you, _schnucki_.”

“Oh, you’re just buttering me up and you know it,” Una replied, poking the man in the ribs until he let go, cackling uncontrollably. She shook her head at her soulmate before turning back to Molly, offering him a warm smile. “I suppose someday we shall have to do just that then, but I think if my son says that you will like something in particular, trust him.” She gave a conspiratorial little wink and leaned in to say, “While my husband is my best walking advertisement of my talents, it was always my little Caleb who was the better of the two at being an attentive taste tester, and my greatest assistant!”

“Ah, _Mama_ ,” Caleb groaned quietly, to the amusement of both Molly and Una, who giggled at his feigned embarrassment. 

Molly purred and very carefully knocked shoulders with Una. “I look forward to arranging that then, in a few weeks after the show’s run is over but before the Chateau picks a new production to start working on for the upcoming season.”

It wasn’t long after that before Vax’ildan came back with another server, a tall elven woman with similarly long, dark hair only bound in a simple braid down her back. Both were pushing carts laden with their food, and the pair of them worked quickly to serve it to the hungry guests.

As Una had predicted, Caleb’s thinking that Molly would like the roast pork was spot on.

It was a relatively simple, if elevated, dish for an event such as this, though Molly greatly enjoyed it nonetheless. The pork loin had been roasted with fresh apples, cherries, and onions and glazed over with a sweet apple and cherry juice sauce that really emphasized the sweet and savoury dichotomy of the dish. 

When they were mostly done eating and Vax’ildan had been by with refills or replacements for their various drinks, Molly leaned over to Caleb and gestured to the groups of people who had found their way to the center of the room for a bit of dancing. “Shall we join them?” he asked, dangerously close to pleading. “Just for a dance or two? I mean, your parents have already gone that way,” Molly continued, pointing out Una and Leofric, lost in their own little world. 

Ah, but how the sight of the two of them made his heart ache. Was that how he and Caleb looked together, Molly wondered as he watched them wistfully.

To his surprise, Caleb agreed to Molly’s proposition, saying, “Of course, _schatz_. I cannot be the soulmate of a dancer and refuse them when they ask if I would like to join them in the very thing that gives their life meaning.” Molly blushed, but he quickly countered Caleb’s words as he caught the human’s hand when they stood up from their chairs. 

“I do appreciate the sentiment darling, but though I do love my dancing, it is you who truly give my life meaning, you know.” He brought Caleb’s finger’s to his lips and met his wizard’s gaze for a moment, holding him there. “Just in case you weren’t aware, dear.”

Caleb’s eyes shone even brighter, and a soft, barely perceptible sigh escaped him as his expression grew deeply fond.

“Thank you for telling me so, _liebling_.” Caleb gently squeezed Molly’s hand tightly and they walked together towards the edge of the space where couples were dancing. Molly heard the orchestra players transition into a tune that he knew though had not danced to, and from Caleb’s expression he knew it as well.

“Oh, this is the Waltz of the Flowers, is it not?” Caleb asked him as the slow introduction began to pick up speed and they were now briskly gliding across the hall with the other couples. Molly, having somehow fallen into a natural following pace to Caleb’s lead, let himself sink into the comfortable pacing of the piece.

“It _is_ ,” Molly confirmed, holding tightly to Caleb’s grip on his waist. He wanted to say more, but the music had already sped up another time until they were pressed close and panting at the music’s end.

There was another transition, and Molly could hear the familiar introduction of the pas de deux through the violinist on stage, as the player who usually performed the part of the harp was currently among their fellow dancers. “Ah, this is your dance,” Caleb murmured, and Molly purred happily. “Do you want to dance it with me? I can lead.” Caleb pressed his forehead against Molly’s and hummed a soft assent. 

“Nothing could please me more.”

And then there wasn’t a need for words anymore, just the two of them moving together, and the music surrounding them. Molly thought back to just hours before when he was standing backstage as the pas de deux began and how all he could remember was just the sheer nervous joy of dancing with Essek in front of all those people for the first time.

This dance was different, Molly suddenly realized as the melody began in earnest. 

It was the same song, though parsed down a bit for the available instruments and the pacing of it adjusted for proper dancing, but the joy he felt was softer, richer, and far more comprehensive than the sharp, bright elation of dancing under the stage lights. Here in this banquet hall with his soulmate in his arms, this dance truly transported Molly to a place he knew that he would return to often in the weeks to come. He could feel Caleb’s love for him burning in his fingers, and Molly could only hope that the soulmark on Caleb’s chest burned for him in a similar way.

They danced for what felt like an eternity to Molly. When they finally paused at the dance floor’s edge a few songs later, Molly’s singular desire was to pull Caleb in for a kiss and press a gentle sigh of contentment into his mouth. 

“Oh Caleb,” Molly whispered as his wizard guided him along the side of the tables and back towards the glass doors and the wide, arched window above them. “Shall we go and watch the stars for a moment? This night has just been simply magical and I… I want to commit as much of it to memory as I can.”

Caleb’s answering smile was deeply fond and indulgent.

“I would love to watch the stars with you,” Caleb replied in kind, linking his left arm with Molly’s right as they escaped into the night outside. 

Strangely, the air along the length of the balcony was just as warm as the inside. Molly turned to ask Caleb about it, but the wizard beat him to it, saying, “Ah, I thought that they might have put a charm on this space. It’s just a little bit of magic to keep the heat from escaping while allowing people like us a moment of quiet if they should need it.”

Molly nodded as he looked around, and he noted that the balcony was just as well decorated as the banquet hall. Garlands wrapped in fairy lights were strung over the doorways with plush potted evergreens placed on either side, similarly covered in lights and colored baubles. A few green garden tables and chairs were placed along the balcony’s brick fence edge in between a few polished mahogany benches.

Caleb selected one of the benches for them to sit on, and it was not too far from the door where they could distantly see the table where all of their friends remained blissfully unaware of their current location. Molly snuggled in close and let the quiet of the night fall over them like a warm blanket, wrapping his tail around Caleb’s waist.

It wasn’t long before one of them broke the silence, however, and to Molly’s surprise, it was Caleb and not himself that was the one to do so.

Caleb had reached over and took one of Molly’s hands, his thumbs tracing over the flames of Molly’s soulmark that danced along the backs of his fingers. At the moment, they were still coated with a film of silver and gold glitter dust that had been Bryce’s idea to help them blend in with the persona of the Sugar Plum Fairy, though a little of the mark underneath was beginning to shine though once more.

“You know, it still sometimes amazes me that I have a soulmate,” Caleb quietly confessed into the space between them. Molly made a soft noise of agreement. “I can’t either. Even after all of those dreams… both the good and the bad, I still wonder about who I was before my accident, and whether or not that version of me would also have been your soulmate or if the accident is what made me that way.”

“Either way, _schatz_ ,” Caleb cut in, interrupting Molly’s darkened thoughts, “we are in the here and now, and we are together. Nothing will change that.”

There was another long stretch of silence before Caleb continued.

“I’ve started to dream of normal things again every so often. Sometimes you’re in them, but it’s like… in the normal way that people dream. I had almost forgotten what that was like.” Molly nodded. “Yeah, though I doubt we’ll ever stop dreaming of those other lives entirely, at least from what I’ve read. But I get what you mean.”

Caleb looked away from Molly and up at the sky above. It was clear this evening, and even with the light pollution of the city, there were still a plethora of stars to be seen.

“Five weeks ago, I never thought that my life truly lacked anything,” Caleb explained. “I had a job that I loved, a few good friends, my parents, and my cat. I didn’t think that because I was without a partner that I was missing a piece of my very soul.” His expression grew teary-eyed and wistful as—even through the magical enchantments—a gentle breeze picked up, lifting Caleb’s hair and pulling it away from his eyes. “As you know,” he added, “not everyone _has_ a soulmate, or indeed even a romantic one, so it did not particularly bother me that I hadn’t met one of my own.” 

He looked away from the stars and back at Molly with an intense tenderness Molly could feel itching its way along his soulmark.

“Even after I met you and later spent the night with you, I knew how exhilarating it was to be near you, but it hadn’t yet occurred to me to look back at my life before and compare the two.” Caleb ran a hand through his hair and huffed as he briefly squeezed Molly’s hand again. “All this time later, though, it is… ah, the distinction could not be more stark. I cannot speak for you, but I now know that in this life and all those before it, I am a far better man with you than without.”

Molly could sense that Caleb seemed to be going somewhere with this, but he was not quite sure what the destination was. Still, it was certainly a sentiment that he could feel echoed in his core.

“Yeah, I agree. I got the impression from those early dreams that I’ve always been kind of impulsive and a little bit stupid when it came to you, but in those moments where we came together and _worked_? Gods, we really worked, and we worked well. Fate just… decided it wasn’t our time yet, I suppose.”

Having said that, an old fear fluttered to life again in Molly’s heart. His tail shuddered and fell away from Caleb’s waist, falling limply to the ground behind them. Molly made a face and wondered in that small voice at the back of his mind, what if fate had decided that this life wasn’t theirs to share either?

Caleb's eyes flashed with a surge of emotion and he pulled Mollymauk into a tight embrace. 

“I can practically hear those worries turning about in your head, liebling,” Caled told him insistently, long fingers carding through Molly’s hair. “Don’t let them get to you.” He pulled away, took one of Molly’s hands, and gingerly put it to his chest, saying, “As long as my heart still beats, I am yours, _liebling_.” 

Caleb paused, and then stood up from the bench to walk around to the other side, still not letting go of Molly’s hand.

“Mister Mollymauk Tealeaf,” Caleb continued seriously and very carefully lowered himself down on one knee, “After all the dreams we’ve dreamt, the lives we were denied in sharing… do you not think it is time that we were allowed our happy ending?”

Molly’s heart began to beat faster as it quickly dawned on him what Caleb was doing. He suddenly found himself blinking back tears as Caleb’s other hand that wasn’t still holding Molly’s dug into one of his coat pockets and produced a tiny velvet box from within. He cradled it against his chest like it was the most precious thing in the entire world.

Caleb looked up and met Molly’s tear-filled eyes with an expression of open adoration.

“When the thought of doing this first occurred to me a week ago I initially thought that perhaps it was too soon. But then–then I looked back on my life without you and realized that… even if we waited half a year, or several years, nothing was going to change how I felt about you and how my life is so much more bright and colorful with you in it. Yes, the life I lived before meeting you was lovely and I likely could have been content to continue on as I was until the end of my days, however, I _did_ meet you, and now that we are together, truly together at last…” Caleb finally stopped to take a breath and let go to very carefully open the box to show Molly it’s contents.

“Molly, I never wish to live my life without you ever again. Will you marry me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For reference, [here is the dress](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/351843789643759416/) I based Molly's evening wear on, as well as [his coat](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/351843789643759452)!


	6. Chapter 6

_See, this was written long before and carries on after we’re gone  
This story that we found ourselves in_

There is a moment in which Caleb feels his heart skip a beat in uncontrollable fear, but it is quickly chased away by the flood of sheer elation that fills him. Molly cries out something in what Caleb recognizes to be Infernal, but even though he cannot understand the words, he knows the truth of Molly’s heart.

Molly surges forward and clings to Caleb with a kind of desperate joy, his resurgent tears and loud sobbing drawing the attention of some of their friends who are still sitting at their table. Caleb can hear distant overlapping gasps and shouts of surprise, but for once, Caleb ignores them. Right now, the only thing that matters is the tiefling crying fiercely happy tears into his shoulder.

The outburst is nearly over as quickly as it began, though when Molly finally pulls away and offers Caleb a tender smile, his red eyes are still quite wet with tears.

Caleb cannot help the laugh that escapes him as he still clutches the box with the ring in one hand, the other lying reassuringly on Molly’s shoulder. “I do believe I think I have my answer,” he told Molly wetly, not expecting tears of his own to be coating his voice as thickly as they were, “but do you think you could repeat that again for me? You may have defaulted to Infernal just now, _schatz_.”

Molly’s tail snapped up in surprise and he gasped, coughing a bit.

“Oh, I–fuck. Was that not in Common? Oh, oh well it’s–gods.” Molly cleared his throat and rummaged around in one of his coat pockets for the half-filled packet of tissues he’d gotten from Caleb’s mother. Once Molly had wiped most of the moisture from his face, he stuffed the tissues back in his pocket–used ones and all–as he met Caleb’s gaze once more and gave a shaky nod.

“It’s yes, my dear,” Molly answered, “A thousand times yes, gods. That was… a lot.”

Caleb laughed again and nodded. “Indeed it was. May I… ah, would you like me to put this on?”

Molly stared at the ring in the box that Caleb still held out in offering. This time his beloved tiefling was again at a loss for words as it appeared Molly could only nod, but he held out his left hand for Caleb to take. Caleb removed the ring from the box, which he set on the bench next to Molly, and carefully slid it onto Molly’s ring finger.

The ring was a modest golden band upon which sat three tiny amethysts nestled within a golden heart; protected by a delicate jeweled peacock. It slid onto Molly’s finger and nestled there as though it had always belonged there.

“It’s so beautiful,” Molly managed to choke through an oncoming wave of fresh tears.

Caleb smiled and just reached into the pocket where Molly had put the tissues and he very gently helped wipe away Molly’s tears.

“As much as I would love to give you more time to let this sink in, I can hear our friends freaking out across the way and Jester will not wait forever for us to properly compose ourselves. There’s always time for this later though, ja?” Caleb offered Molly what he hoped was a comforting smile, and Molly nodded. “Now there is,” he responded with a quiet, resolved confidence.

At last Caleb stood, picking up the box and putting it back into his pocket while at the same time helping Molly to stand.

They returned to their table and their group of chaotic friends, with Jester being the first to greet them almost immediately. She nearly bowled them over in her excitement, only just barely managing to skid to a halt in front of Molly before she collided with the both of them.

“Ohmygosh, Molly!” Jester jabbered wildly, grinning from ear to ear. “I saw Caleb propose! Did you–please tell me you said yes.” Molly laughed ardently, still wiping away tears from his eyes. “Oh, Jester,” Molly began, putting his left hand against his chest and his right against her arm in an effort to mute the unstoppable tide of her exuberance, “of _course_ I said yes. I don’t think I could ever have said anything else.”

Jester squealed in delight upon noticing the ring and she babbled about how pretty it was as Fjord quietly came up and stood next to her, giving a nod to Molly. He gently put an arm around her as Molly let her go, which quieted her down some once she noticed that she was being held by her soulmate.

“I suppose congratulations are in order,” the half-orc said calmly. “That was smoothly done, if I’m being honest,” Fjord told Caleb with a sheepish smile. “I didn’t even see either of you slip away.” That was about when Caduceus came wandering in their direction with a curious expression and tapped Fjord on the shoulder, asking, “Say, what’s all the fuss? I went to get another of those drinks Jester recommended, which are really good by the way–”

“Caleb proposed to Molly!” Jester blurted, unable to keep from interrupting. “And Molly said yes!” Caduceus blinked, and his eyes landed on the ring that rested on Molly’s left hand. A pleased smile slowly made its way onto his face and he chuckled. “Well, isn’t that nice? I’m really happy for you, friend.”

“Thanks Cad,” Molly said in reply, and Caduceus also inclined his head to Caleb, saying, “Ah, and you too Caleb. May you have many long years of happiness ahead together.” Caleb found himself smiling back in return, feeling strangely well settled at being able to share this news with his friends.

“I wasn’t prepared to witness a proposal today,” the drow, Essek, said as he glided over and came to stand a comfortable distance away from the rest of the group, “but I am certainly happy for you both nonetheless.”

Molly giggled. “Ah, Essek. So stuffy even when you’re giving compliments. Well, I’m just glad you were here tonight anyway. I hope you've been alright here on your own, making friends with my friends?”

Yasha sidled up next to Essek just then; Beauregard at her side. “Oh, we’ve been talking about things in Xhorhas, actually,” said Yasha quietly. “It’s been nice.” She pointedly looked at both Caleb and Molly before adding with a soft chuckle, “When Jester pointed out the two of you I was afraid that I might have to jump over the table so that you could have your moment to yourselves, but uh… thankfully I didn’t need to, um, do that.” She blushed a little as she reached up to rub at the back of her neck sheepishly while Beauregard smiled at her fondly.

Then Beauregard strode over to where Caleb stood, and for a brief moment he thought she was going to punch him. However, she just… pulled him in for a brief, intensely tight hug and released him, grasping at his shoulders with a smile on her face. “Hey man, I’m like, seriously happy for you. Is that weird?”

“Maybe for you, unpleasant one,” Molly teased, and she pouted at him, causing Yasha to laugh and startle just about everyone with how beautiful and musical it was.

“Come now, be nice,” Yasha chided them, but Molly just continued to grin cheekily. Beauregard seemed to take it in stride though, as she let go of Caleb’s shoulders with a curt nod and stepped back to return to Yasha’s side.

Caleb could hear some shuffling from the other side of the table and that was when Veth ran up to him with her arms outstretched. He knelt for her and was quickly absorbed into another embrace. “Is this why you were asking about Pumat’s the other day?” Veth finally asked when they parted, and Caleb nodded. “I remembered that you mentioned getting some custom rings done from him that you needed on a pretty quick turnaround, so, ah… _ja_ , that was why.”

He knew as he stood back up that he was blushing, but Caleb found that he could not bring himself to care. His happiness seemed to just override everything else.

Veth turned to Molly then and beckoned him to her. “Come down here so I can give you a hug too. Yeza and I need to go take Luc and put him to bed soon and I want to hug you before I go.” Molly smiled and was all too eager to oblige, kneeling down and opening his arms for a quick hug from his dear friend. It warmed his heart to see them embrace, and even when they parted and Molly stood back up, still wiping away a few stray tears, the feeling lingered in his chest.

“Say, what’s all this now?” Caleb heard his father’s voice carry over the din and he blinked as Leofric and Una, having finally retired from dancing, came back and waded through the little gathering still locked arm in arm with one another. Caleb opened his mouth to try to explain, but it appeared that his mother was quicker on the draw than he was when she spotted the ring on Molly’s finger; a soft gasp escaping her as her eyes widened.

“Oh Leofric, look,” she cooed happily, gesturing at Molly with a besotted smile on her face, “look at his left hand.”

Leofric frowned and Molly giggled breathlessly as he fiddled a bit with the ring in his nervousness. Then his father blinked, looked from the ring to Molly’s face and Caleb’s, and when he finally put the pieces together a warm softness overtook his features.

“Ah, I see now,” Leofric rumbled approvingly. “I’m happy for you son. Both of you.”

Molly’s lip quivered and he reached for his tissues again, sniffling. “Gods, you all need to stop before I run out of tissues.” And everyone had a good laugh at that as Una pulled both Caleb and Molly in for another warm hug.

“You didn’t plan for this just because we were here, did you?” Una asked Caleb pointedly when she released them and stepped away. Caleb shook his head. “ _Nein_ ,” Caleb told her insistently, “I had already decided to do it before you called saying that you wanted to come down and see him perform tonight. It just happened to work out that way, _Mama_.”

Marion, who had been watching all of the proceedings from the next table over, finally got up and walked around to Molly, putting a motherly hand on one shoulder.

“I know tonight has likely been a lot for you both,” Marion conceded gently, “but I too would like to offer a formal congratulations. You must know, dearest Mollymauk, that you have always felt like the second child I never had. I also must tell you that I hope to be receiving an invitation to the wedding at some point…”

Molly chuckled and turned around to wrap his arms around her in a final hug.

“And if I don’t, you’ll disown me?” He laughed as the two of them twined their tails together and rubbed their horns in a way that Caleb had seen Jester do with her mother once before. Marion put a hand to Molly’s cheek and smiled at him serenely, rubbing her thumb against his slightly smeared makeup.

“Oh, I don’t think I’d go that far,” Marion remarked, “though I would definitely be a bit disappointed. Though, on a lighter subject, I really must find Bryce and compliment them myself on their makeup skills. I get the feeling you’ve gone through quite a few tissues over the course of tonight and you still look fabulous dear.” She let him go, though not before giving him a parting kiss to the forehead and moving a few wayward curls behind one ear. Their tails untangled, leaving Molly room to shift back against Caleb’s side to wrap it around one of Caleb’s wrists instead.

They chatted for a bit longer after having returned to the table until finally Veth and Yeza removed a sleepy Luc from the booster seat with Beauregard’s help. The archivist offered to help them carry him out to their car which was reluctantly accepted by Veth at Yeza’s insistence. Yasha quietly declared that she would also be joining her if they were going to head home afterwards, and after a moment or two of internal deliberation, Beauregard eagerly agreed.

“You have a good night, Widogast!” Beauregard shouted at him as they were leaving, eventually throwing back, “And you too, Tealeaf!” for good measure.

Caduceus and Fjord were next, though not before Fjord asked for Jester’s number with the promise to send her a text and maybe come by the cafe tomorrow morning. Jester squealed as Marion looked on and met Fjord’s apprehensive gaze with warmth and acceptance, seemingly allowing him a moment to breathe easy.

Jester handed him a napkin with her number scrawled across it in a sparkly blue gel pen and told him seriously, “If you don’t call or text me then I’ll just call Molly, you know. He’s got your number, I know he does.” Molly cackled and agreed wholeheartedly. “Oh, _oh_ I see what’s happening here, you lucky dog! Well, yes, she is right about that actually, I do have your number _and_ Caduceus’ and I have absolutely no qualms about giving either to her if she asks.”

He winked, and Fjord just let out a fond sigh as he shook his head and pocketed the napkin. “I’ll call you, Jester, I promise,” he replied with a deep affection in his eyes.

When Marion and the Gentleman stood up, those who remained could tell the party was winding down and clean up would begin soon. Jester told her mother that she was heading out as well and refused to leave until she got at least a _tiny_ hug from the Gentleman, who looked slightly uncomfortable about the whole affair but took it in stride while Marion watched with a smug, amused expression.

“You all have a safe drive home,” Marion told the four of them that remained before she left to go help delegate.

That left just Caleb and Molly, as well as Caleb’s parents.

“It seems like everything’s winding down,” Leofric said after Marion had disappeared into the crowd. Una hummed tiredly, clinging into one arm with a happy smile. “It’s been such a lovely night, but before we leave do either of you think we could stop by the big tree in the lobby for some pictures? You’ll beat yourself up years down the line if you don’t, I promise you.”

Caleb looked at Molly, who nodded in agreement. “That sounds reasonable to me,” Molly replied. “It’s not like our apartment is going anywhere, is it now?” He turned to Caleb and grabbed the other hand that wasn’t already wrapped up in his tail. Together, they made their way back to the front lobby and Caleb let his mother finally fuss over his bowtie for a bit before she positioned them to her liking and Leofric watched patiently, hands stuffed into his coat pockets.

“Alright, now don’t smile right away because that absolutely ruins photos,” Una instructed, but really, it was hard not to smile with Molly’s tail tickling the backs of his legs. “Ah, I would if this one would stop teasing me with his tail,” Caleb laughed, until finally Molly’s giggles subsided and he behaved himself just long enough for Una to count down and take a couple photos.

They really were quite good. And apparently she’d even taken some candid ones of their friends that Caleb hadn’t noticed her get from earlier that evening.

“Could you see some of the other ones as well?” Caleb asked, pointing to those ones on her photo reel. She nodded amicably, scrolling through them. “Oh, sure! I just want to do some color balancing and stuff first but I’ll definitely send you some tomorrow before we meet up for lunch. Or perhaps brunch?”

“It depends on when this one gets up,” said Caleb, gesturing to Molly who pretended to poke him in the arm.

“They’re giving us the weekend before the daily runs start going on next week, so I absolutely intend to sleep in for a bit,” Molly responded with a laugh. “Unlike this one who’s up with the sun and only takes two cups of creamer in his strictly black coffee.”

Caleb made an affronted noise in the back of his throat and shot back, “Says the one with the sweet tooth, _schatz_.” He just shook his head as a fond smile tugged at the edges of his lips and he gave each of his parents a quick parting hug. “Ah, well, we’ll see you sometime tomorrow,” he told them honestly.

“Alright, _liebchen_ ,” Una called back as she and Leofric turned to exit the Lavish Chateau and retrieve their vehicle from the valet. “We’ll see you tomorrow; safe travels on your way back, there’s a ton of ice and snow on the roads tonight.”

“Will do, Mama,” Caleb promised. “Just don’t expect to see us any time before 10 AM!”

Molly poked him in the side with his tail and gently knocked a horn up against Caleb’s skull, causing the wizard to wince a little.

“You’re a menace,” Caleb told Molly teasingly when they walked out to the valet.

Molly merely shrugged and flashed a toothy grin, taking his place in the passenger seat while Caleb slid behind the wheel. Not many more words were said between them on the drive back, as the soft classical holiday music coming from Caleb’s speakers was more than enough while they took the time to let the events of the evening truly sink in.

It wasn’t until after they had safely parked in their apartment’s garage, made their way up the stairs, and finally into the apartment that the reality of it all truly sank in for Caleb.

All of the past week’s planning and running about acquiring the ring and making sure people had their tickets just settled in his memory, much in the same way an object suspended in clear resin might. Even in the apartment that was very much theirs now, Molly was… resplendent. Radiant. Utterly captivating.

“Caleb? Are you alright?”

Molly’s words filtered into Caleb’s thoughts and he blinked, realizing that he’d just sort of been standing there, staring at Molly for gods knew how long. He ducked his head, a flush flooding his cheeks as he shucked off his black leather dress shoes.

“Sorry, it’s just… you’re very distracting, you know,” Caleb hummed, mostly to himself, though Molly chuckled and offered him an sultry, inviting grin full of teeth and tenderness all at once. “Already? I haven’t even made a move on you yet, darling,” he purred, stalking forward and stroking down Caleb’s chest with a trimmed down middle talon as Caleb felt his tail go up in the other direction up his back.

“Ah, well, now you have,” Caleb replied in kind, feeling his body grow warm despite the coolness of the apartment.

Caleb reached up to his tiefling’s face using both hands and captured Molly’s lips with his, though he did so slowly and with little heat. He wanted to savor the aftertaste of the apple and cherry glaze on Molly’s breath, the smell of peppermint from his perfume, and the texture of glittery makeup under his fingers while they stood there, frozen in time.

When Caleb pulled away, it was only just a short distance enough to press his forehead against Molly’s while he enfolded the tiefling in his arms, holding him close with Molly’s arms pinned between their chests. Molly sighed contentedly into Caleb’s mouth and let himself be held, clearly welcoming the respite of a moment of quiet. There was a soft huff of laughter while they slowly swayed to nothing in particular and Molly laid his head on one shoulder.

“I hadn’t realized until now how much I wanted this,” Molly confessed in a soft whisper after a while. “I mean, I’d still like to have you take me to bed, but you just–just holding me is… well. There’s really nothing quite like it, if I'm honest.”

A loud, plaintive meow caught startled them out of their little bubble for just a moment, and their attention was drawn downwards as a little furry body wound around their legs, tail lingering as it went.

“Oh, hello Frumpkin,” Molly chuckled, still not quite looking to separate from Caleb.

Thankfully, Frumpkin didn’t seem to be looking for attention and was seemingly just there to quickly say hello before he ran back to his cat tower apartment.

“Ah, he just wanted to say hello,” Caleb mumbled into Molly’s hair, and the tiefling made a soft noise of agreement in response. “Yeah, looks like, though I suppose we should head to bed soon, huh?”

Caleb nodded, though neither of them moved. He looked around at what he could see of their living space, and while there were still elements of his simple tastes that remained, now the area was also draped in a few of the colorful blankets and throw pillows that Molly was so fond of. He also knew that the bookshelves just on the other side of the wall were now lined with fewer books and more CDs and old vinyl records and the odd crystal knickknack here and there.

The apartment was still mostly dark except for the fairy lights that Molly had hung up when he’d moved in, and the tiny lamp next to them on the mail table most of their shoes went underneath when they entered, but it still felt warm and inviting all the same.

It felt like it was _theirs_.

Molly noticed him glancing around and he turned to join Caleb in taking in the space that they’d been slowly building together.

“I hope to continue filling this space with more of us,” Molly told him, to which Caleb agreed. “Ja, I look forward to that as well. Maybe perhaps someday we could get a house too, if you’re looking to stay on with the Lavish Chateau for a long time? I know that good city houses are sometimes a bit tricky to find, but it’s not impossible.”

Caleb could feel his chest burn and overflow with emotion as Molly lifted his head from his chest to look up at him with open adoration.

“You’d get a house with me?” Molly asked, somehow surprised at Caleb’s words, and Caleb pressed a reassuring kiss against Molly’s lips. “Of course, _schatz_ ,” Caleb whispered through soft laughter. “Maybe not right away, but someday, especially if you wanted… well.” Caleb looked away, trying to decide how to put what he wanted to say into the right words. Molly simply waited patiently as they disentangled from one another but remained close in their embrace.

“Especially if I wanted what?” Molly prompted curiously.

“Ah, my mother pointed out to me how cute you looked with Luc in the backstage lobby,” Caleb said simply. “She asked if you wanted children someday and I told her it hadn’t occurred to me to ask. I know I just asked you to marry me not more than maybe two hours ago, but–”

“I’m certainly not opposed to the idea,” Molly gently interrupted him with a shy smile.

Caleb blinked at Molly, somewhat stunned. “Ah… oh. Truly?” Molly nodded.

“Luc _was_ pretty adorable, and yeah, I was actually thinking during the dinner it might be nice to have one of my own someday? Though perhaps you’re right about that house; children need lots more space than what we have now, or so I hear.” Molly laughed, a bit breathlessly. “I guess I was pretty transparent about it if your own mother pointed it out to you.”

Caleb’s mind began to fill with thoughts of a three bedroom house with perhaps a garden where they could grow tea and catmint, a little tiefling underfoot as they got ready for their respective days…

“You’ve got something on your mind, I see,” Molly teased with a fond smile. “What is it?”

“Just… thoughts of the future,” Caleb answered honestly. “For now though, I’d just like to be… us for a bit, you know? I want to learn more about who we are together before we introduce any third parties–ah, Frumpkin excluded I suppose. I hope that makes sense.” Molly laid his head back down onto Caleb’s shoulder, wrapping his arms around so that the tips of his fingers were pressed firmly into Caleb’s shoulder blades.

“I always got the impression that Frumpkin was a part of you more than he was like, a third party or anything,” Molly joked, chuckling. “He’s just as much a part of you as your love of books or classical music or using freshly baked bread as a pair of mittens.”

“I should have never told you about that,” Caleb muttered darkly.

Molly laughed and clung even tighter to Caleb. “I do get what you’re saying though,” he told Caleb eventually, “You did just ask to marry me only two hours ago, after all.”

He pulled away and Caleb met his ruby-eyed gaze. Emotion thrummed hot in Caleb’s chest, stemming from the soulmark at its center. Caleb knew the sensation must be echoing in the mark at Molly’s fingers, because he’d only ever felt the soulmark’s sensations that strongly when Molly felt the same thing that he did.

“Caleb?” Molly whispers, his breath ghosting warm and tingly across Caleb’s face.

“Yes, _liebling_?” Caleb echoed as his heart sped up a tick in his chest, hammering against his soulmark vigorously.

“Will you take me to bed and make love to me?”

Caleb closed his eyes, chuckling. “Oh, I thought you’d never ask.”

* * *

Molly starts by reaching for Caleb’s long suit jacket as soon as the door to their room is barely closed behind them.

Before he’s able to do so Caleb stops him to pull out the sprig of lavender that had been nestled in his breast pocket and he set it on top of the nightstand behind them. Molly looks at him strangely until Caleb kisses him once and confesses, “I’d like to keep it, to press into a bookmark later. One that will always remind me of you, _liebling_.” That has Molly’s heart falling into his stomach to do little lovesick somersaults, but he finds that he doesn’t care what it does at the moment.

Once he's managed to actually get it off his wizard, he tosses the coat into the dry cleaning hamper that they have placed just outside of the bathroom. Caleb in turn reaches for the zipper on Molly’s dress since _his_ coat is already hanging up in the hall, but Molly stops him with a wink and a huff of laughter.

“Oh, not yet Mister Caleb,” Molly tells him sweetly, “I promise, if you let me help you out of a few more layers first then you’ll be thanking me once I let you get me out of this one.” Caleb snorted, but acquiesced to let Molly continue tenderly attacking his clothes.

Still, even though Caleb let Molly have free reign of the pace at which his layers of clothing were removed, that did not stop him from being a nuisance. While Molly was busy removing Caleb’s belt, his wizard was gently working at his neck with lips and teeth above the sheer fabric of his dress, taking the time to leave a few gifts there that Molly was certain might even be visible come morning, not that he minded terribly, it was just _incredibly_ distracting and went straight to his cock every time Caleb sucked up bits of Molly’s skin into his mouth.

“You’re not making this easy, you know,” Molly purred, tossing the belt to the floor with a heavy thud. Caleb chuckled, glancing up beneath heated, half-lidded eyes.

“You never said I had to make it easy on you. Besides, you asked _me_ to make love to _you_ , _schatz_ , but look at us.” Caleb laughed breathlessly. Molly merely sighed, exasperated as he undid the button on Caleb’s pants but elected to leave the zipper alone in favor of tugging the white shirt out from its contents. He’s about to try and pull it over Caleb’s head before his wizard stops him, laughing, “Wait, wait! My bowtie, Molly! Give–ah, give me a bit to undo that before you strangle me.”

Molly snorts. “Well, I did ask for you to _help me_ remove a few of your layers, not that you waited on me to do everything, love.” Eventually Caleb is able to undo the bowtie, which gets tossed into the second hamper next to the one for dry cleaning, and his dress shirt quickly follows suit into the first one.

It pleases Molly to see more of his wizard on display for him, and he runs his hand over Caleb’s chest hungrily, the remaining sharpened talons on his fingers leaving trails of gooseflesh in their wake. He moves forward to take one of Caleb’s already hardened nipples in his mouth and swirls his tongue around it to taste the faint salt and muck of human skin, drawing a low moan from the man.

“Gods, Molly… haven’t you removed enough of my layers now?” Caleb asked, panting harshly when Molly finally moved away.

Molly smirked and turned around, tugging at the zipper a bit to show Caleb exactly where it was, the spade of his tail wandering up and along Caleb’s chest. “Alright, alright, I’ve teased you enough, I think. Go ahead and unwrap me, dear.”

Caleb chuckled and hands were on Molly almost immediately, though they did not go to the zipper at first. Instead Caleb hugged Molly from behind to grab at Molly’s pectorals and breathe hot air across his neck. Molly gasped and arched backwards out of habit, feeling the press of Caleb’s erection beneath the layers of fabric that separated them. That in turn caused his own cock to twitch again, and he could feel his arousal building.

His wizard also resumed his attack on Molly’s neck now that more of it was properly exposed, and Caleb’s fingers brushed against Molly’s nipples through the dress as his hands moved to his sides. Long fingers ran down until they came to Molly’s hips and the swell of his ass, grasping the flesh there with the enthusiasm of someone who was most _definitely_ an ass man. Molly hummed, being mindful of his horns as he tilted his head back to rest against Caleb’s shoulder.

“As much as I’m actually quite enjoying this, darling,” Molly mumbled through his pleasure, I do believe you’re missing the whole point…” To which Caleb’s response was simply, “Again, I’ll remind you that you’re the one who decided to ask me to make love to you, and just as a heads up, I am absolutely the kind of person who likes to very carefully take apart the wrapping instead of tearing into it like an animal.”

“Which is not a terrible thing, I suppose,” was Molly’s response as Caleb’s hand danced up his back to pull down the zipper, “as this was rather expensive wrapping and I would love to wear it out again sometime.”

For a moment, once the zipper had been tugged down all the way, there was no sound other than the slightest of gasps that Molly almost wasn’t sure he had heard at all. That was until Caleb cleared his throat and said in an accent that was much thicker than usual, “Molly, wh–would you mind turning around?”

Molly did as he was asked, and he shivered a little while Caleb’s hands lingered on his body, eventually coming to rest on Molly’s shoulders where the fabric of the dress was starting to curl. Caleb moved closer to get a better grip on it and his fingers skittered underneath, causing Molly’s breath to hitch when Caleb’s nails brushed against his skin. Caleb’s breath ghosted Molly’s face once they were nearly chest to chest, warm and faintly smelling of the mulled wine he’d had at dinner.

Caleb’s eyes flickered up to meet his, and Molly’s heart skipped a couple beats as his soulmark pulsed with gentle warmth, causing his fingers to twitch reflexively at his sides.

As Caleb started to pull back the fabric of Molly’s dress, it felt like he was also pulling back a shield and laying the core of Molly’s soul bare. Inch by agonizing inch, Caleb revealed a delicate collar made of white lace that stood out quite starkly against Molly’s deep lavender skin, followed by a thin triangular bralette of embroidered flowers.

“Hold the dress at your waist for a moment?” Caleb asked, his voice still thick and carefully measured.

Molly held a hand against the dress fabric at his belly while Caleb rolled down the sleeves, asking Molly to remove his hands only when it was required to fully remove the fabric from his arm and revealing the living canvas of tattoos underneath. He even had reached around to make sure that Molly’s tail was free of the custom slit he’d had tailored for it.

“May I let go?” Molly asked Caleb when both arms were free of the sleeves and the only thing holding up the rest of the dress was Molly’s hands. Caleb stepped back, visibly swallowed, and replied roughly, “ _Ja_ , you may.”

Molly let the fabric fall gently around his feet, revealing the second half of the lingerie, a wide band of white embroidered flowers that rested along the curve of Molly’s hips with four clips holding up the lacy garter stockings crawling up the sides of his legs. The piece that Molly was most interested in seeing Caleb’s reaction to were the matching lacy panties made specifically for tieflings with a circle of fabric around the tail. Molly’s cock was snugly contained within its contents for the moment, however it had already started to peek up over the hem as his arousal began to climb.

He also knew that in the back, just below the circle for his tail, there was enough space between the two strips of fabric that connected the back and front sections for easy access to Molly’s puckered hole.

Gods, Caleb’s hands were on fire, and it was quickly catching to Molly’s entire body as Caleb circled Molly like a hawk, unable to keep his hands to himself. Those hands trembled while they ran along Molly’s tail, eliciting a shiver when Caleb squeezed gently at the base and again where the tail ended and the spade began.

“Well Caleb, what do you think?” Molly barely managed to get out in between breaths.

“You are so beautiful, _schatz_ ,” was Caleb’s immediate answer.

Molly reached for Caleb’s hands, which were still trembling, and the heat in Molly’s fingers had wavered to something he could not describe that worried him a little.

“Are you alright? You’re shaking.” Molly frowned, and suddenly noticed Caleb blinking back tears. “I’m– _ja_ , Molly, I’m fine.” Caleb gave a wet little laugh and pulled Molly against him. Wherever their skin touched felt electric, and it suddenly had Molly gasping, completely weak at the knees. His tail skittered, wrapping around Caleb’s waist for support while the pair scrambled to stay upright.

“I’m… I’m very alright, _mein perle_ ,” Caleb assured him again when they were stable, “I was just… a little overwhelmed.” His hands felt so large and warm against Molly’s back, which was a strange sensation in and of itself since he normally ran hot to begin with.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever–gods. Mollymauk, I just realized how much I love you, and I don’t think I’ve ever said. Because I do, very much. Love you, that is.”

Molly’s heart soared and melted all at once and he reached up to pull Caleb down and crash the wizard’s lips against his. They tilted over, tumbling onto the bed until Molly was pinned underneath Caleb against the plush, scarlet duvet they’d brought over from Molly’s things. When Molly released Caleb, his wizard’s eyes were now properly blown wide with arousal and his pants looked mighty uncomfortable from where Molly was laying, though neither of those things mattered as much as the pure, unfiltered love that filled Caleb’s eyes as he gazed down at Molly.

“I…” Molly started to say that he loved Caleb back, but when he saw the light of the bedside lamp shine bright streaks of gold through Caleb’s long ginger hair, he was suddenly struck with a similar feeling to what he had felt through Caleb earlier, though much more intensely.

Caleb settled on Molly’s thighs, still willfully ignorant of his own erection, and he reached up to cup Molly’s face with one hand. With his other hand, Caleb carded his fingers through Molly’s curls and gently rubbed soothing circles into his horns. “I know, Molly,” Caleb told him quietly in understanding, “I know.” Molly reached up to grasp the wrist of the hand pressed against his face, desperate for a lifeline in the sea of emotion he was drowning in.

“Gods, I love you too,” he finally managed to gasp after taking the time to get in a proper gulp of air, “I love–I love you so much.”

Caleb leaned down and stole whatever Molly’s next words might’ve been, taking them from Molly’s lips into his. “I need to, ah, remove my pants if you don’t mind,” Caleb told him sheepishly when he pulled away, “or else this might be a very short night and I was looking forward to making love to you, liebling. Would you mind getting out the lube for me while I do that?”

Molly sat up a bit while Caleb moved away to peel off both his pants and underwear all in one go. Now Molly felt very underdressed, in spite of the fact that things like his lacy under things were sort of items meant to be worn during moments like this. He reached up to brush away some unruly curls and, instead of reaching in the nearby nightstand for the lube, looked up and shyly asked, “Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to show me how that lubrication spell works?”

Caleb paused, having returned to his previous position on Molly’s thighs and blinked at him owlishly. It was rather quite funny and it gave Molly a mild case of the giggles.

“Sorry,” he wheezed as Caleb’s expression turned into one of mildly amused admonishment, “it’s just, I’ve been wondering for awhile now and you did say once that you would show me how it works!”

“ _Ja_ , true,” Caleb agreed at last, “though it’s nothing truly as spectacular as what I made it out to be, honest. Here, open your mouth a little for me?”

Molly did so, and Caleb put two fingers into his mouth. They tasted faintly of salted meat and potatoes, and something distinctly Caleb. “Now, suck them, if you don’t mind,” Caleb instructed, “really get them nice and wet for me. Think about your favorite foods, or your mouth around my cock, perhaps? Get yourself properly salivating, that’s it.”

When Caleb was summarily satisfied, he removed the fingers from Molly’s mouth and snapped them back to break the trail of saliva that followed. It also snapped against Molly’s chin a bit, but Caleb wiped that away with the thumb of his other hand.

“Now, watch carefully, or you may miss it,” Caleb told him seriously, and then he proceeded to recite an incantation Molly couldn’t understand. Molly watched as the saliva on Caleb’s hand glowed for a moment, then it increased in size and surrounded a third finger on his hand with a generous amount of the substance that strangely did not drip onto the sheets below.

“You’re right,” Molly admitted with a soft chuckle, “I have no idea what you just did, but… it was very cool, and–wait. Does that smell like… peppermint?”

Caleb held up his hand for Molly to sniff, and it did indeed smell like peppermint.

“It’s what you were wearing when we saw each other again in the cafe the day after the afternoon in the library,” Caleb told him, a rosy blush flooding his cheeks, “and this evening, during dinner. I know you wear other scents but… the peppermint that you prefer is my favorite.” Gods, if that didn’t just cause Molly’s already aching heart to twinge once more as a softer wave of emotion crested over him, reminding him exactly how lost in this love he still was.

“Does it taste like peppermint too?”

Caleb laughed, “Probably. The substance the spell generates is designed to be safe for ingesting, though I would like to get back to making love to you, if I’m being honest.”

Oh, that’s right. Molly had almost forgotten.

“Would you turn over for me please, _schatz_?”

Molly did so, and Caleb resituated himself on the backs of Molly’s legs. He could hear Caleb make a soft sound of discovery, likely having found the opening in the lace made specifically for this purpose. Caleb chuckled.

“You’ve been quite literally sitting on this secret all night, haven’t you?” Caleb observed, thoroughly amused. He ran his other hand up and down Molly’s back in soothing circles, likely memorizing the feel and texture of the lace against the contrast of Molly’s skin. It was even enough to start up a low purr in Molly’s chest that sprung from him quite without his say so.

“Alright,” Caleb cut into Molly’s thoughts with a start, “this _should_ be just the appropriate temperature for you, but please do tell me if it is not, ja?”

“Of course, dear,” replied Molly with a quiet sigh into the pillows.

Caleb pressed two of his slick fingers against the puckered rim of Molly’s asshole, and his eyes shot open. Molly shuddered at how _hot_ it was; not quite a scalding heat but warm enough that when Caleb had finished gently poking and prodding at the ring of muscle to give way to his fingers, it felt like the substance coating them was made from the liquid essence of a beach nap in Nicodranas on a warm summer’s day.

Molly's heart gave another gentle lurch as the soulmark on his fingers burned deeply with the intensity of Caleb’s worshipful adoration. Caleb continued to open Molly up with his fingers, asking Molly to turn over so that he could crook them properly against Molly’s prostate, causing Molly’s cock to jerk and dribble a little over his stomach.

In all this time, Caleb had not forgotten Molly’s tail, which he had been desperate to keep still by having it wrap around some part of Caleb, usually his waist or his leg… though now it had come undone from its moorings and Caleb’s free hand that wasn’t scissoring Molly into oblivion had gotten ahold of it. He was currently running his hand along the twitching length of it, gripping it tightly at the base of the spade. At some point Caleb got it in his head to put the tip of the spade into his mouth, and Molly’s hips jerked violently as he cried out from the sharp flash of pleasure that whited out his vision for perhaps a second or two.

“Caleb!” Molly shouted, perhaps a touch too loud for their neighbors’ comfort, but at this point, Molly was losing his ability to care. “Please,” he begged, “I… I want you in me, dear heart.” His tail twitched helplessly in Caleb’s grip, and his wizard mercifully let it go to skitter along the soft scarlet duvet.

“Alright, liebling,” Caleb soothed, finally removing his fingers from Molly and using the magical substance to slick up his neglected cock. “I’ve got you, just hold on.”

Caleb whimpered a little as he did so, having largely ignored himself in favor of putting all his focus on Molly, though his body certainly wasn’t aware of the fact that his cock had gone all this time without continuous stimulation. Molly just lay there for a bit, taking the moment of respite to allow himself a breather and some time to rein in his arousal just a bit so that hopefully they could make things last for a little while.

“Do you want to ride me,” Caleb began as he crawled on all fours, hovering over Molly’s prone form, “or shall we–”

“Ah, just like this is good,” Molly cut in, panting slightly, “or, or perhaps… from behind? I kind of have this weird desire for you to fuck me into the pillows. Does that work for you?” Caleb huffed a gentle laugh in between breaths. “You’re the one I’m making love to, schatz, not me.” He offered Molly a warm smile and ran both hands down Molly’s chest, surprisingly neither of which were covered in the warm, sticky substance of Caleb’s lubrication spell.

“Let’s try it from behind first and then if it’s not working, we’ll switch positions,” Molly suggested, and Caleb nodded shortly. “ _Ja_ , that works. Turn back over then for me?”

Molly turned over and folded his arms around some of the pillows, considering for a moment getting his knees underneath him but he decided against it at the last second and lay flat against the bed instead.

Molly could feel the heat of Caleb’s cock at his entrance moments later, and then a soft grunt as Caleb thrust forward.

If the warmth from before had been like a sleepy summer’s day, this felt more like the sweltering nights when one is already naked and dripping sweat on the sheets with all the fans on blast, but nothing brings any concrete relief. This heat, however, is centered in his ass and the core of him, shooting up the length of his spine like lightning. Molly feels Caleb’s hands on him, and wherever he touches feels like hot coffee and the pillow Molly has his face pressed into smells entirely of peppermint.

Finally Caleb sinks fully inside, and his entire body trembles against Molly as he holds himself quite still for a bit.

“ _Take all the time you need_ ,” Molly says, and for a moment he wonders if he’s hearing two of himself. The moment passes, however, and he’s back in his own body again with Caleb leaning over him and breathing the ghost of hot mulled wine down his neck.

“I just needed a bit of a breather,” Caleb tells him, pressing fluttering kisses along the blades of his shoulders around the clasps of the lacy lingerie. “Got a bit lightheaded,” he continued, laughing as he sat up and repositioned his legs a bit so that Molly’s tail could more comfortably lie off to one side. “It’s alright now though, are you good?”

“Mmm, very good, yes,” Molly moaned as Caleb’s cock jostled slightly inside him.

Caleb gave a grunt of approval and grasped Molly’s shoulders for leverage. He pulled out slowly, raking Molly’s insides over the hot coals of smooth river rocks in the afternoon–

_–he sees Caleb bathing across the way, usually so reticent with his nudity at the bathhouses, but he is somehow more free with it out on the open road. The sun warms Molly’s naked back as the wizard looks up at him, sees him watching. Molly is sure that Caleb will look away or hide under the water, but he blushes and ducks his head, lets the tiefling drink his fill as–_

Molly gasps when Caleb snaps his hips for a long, drawn out thrust and he cries out, “Oh gods, Caleb!”

Caleb is right there with him, Molly knows, he can feel the burn of feeling tingling in his fingers, and there is a deep thrumming in his heart where he knows his love for Caleb rests deep within. Something has pierced his heart, however–a spear, he thinks? No, not a spear, but something has broken and is repairing itself as Caleb continues to thrust. Molly’s tail skitters along the bed–

_–and he cannot regain control of it. Not while Caleb has the tip of the spade in his mouth again. Molly cannot believe they are doing this here in a tent along the side of the road, but something in his body tells him how right it feels to be here. Still he wants more, greedy thing that he is, he wants–_

“ _I want to see you_ ,” says Molly at once, suddenly bereft with longing for the sight of Caleb’s face above him.

“Yes, of course,” Caleb agrees without question, and though Molly whines when Caleb pulls out entirely and helps Molly roll over onto his back, head propped up between multiple pillows. “Are you comfortable, _liebling_?” Caleb asks, always so considerate.

Molly nods, and Caleb thrusts forward again, eyes gleaming wet with tears–

_–and Molly reaches up to brush them away. “Why the tears? Is everything alright?” he asks gently, hoping his words don’t shatter the moment._

_Caleb laughs, but it’s slightly bitter to Molly’s discerning ears._

_“I do not usually believe in fate,” Caleb confesses, and thrusts again, causing Molly to gasp as Caleb presses against that sweet spot inside him. “However,” Caleb continues, drawing a hand down Molly’s face while tears glisten and trail down into the stubble on his own, “If it does exist, it has been… uncharacteristically kind to me, in bringing us together. I am merely… afraid…”_

_“Afraid of what, darling?” Molly says into Caleb’s mouth when he brings down the wizard for a searing kiss. “There’s nothing to be afraid of in our bed, love.” Molly’s hands wander along Caleb’s arms and grasp his shoulders tightly while his tail winds around a pair of their ankles._

_His wizard merely sighs and presses his forehead against Molly’s and says in a small, quiet voice, “I am afraid of losing you, like I have lost everyone else in my life that I have ever cared for as deeply.”_

_Ah, so there it is._

_Molly readjusts his legs so that they are wrapped around Caleb’s waist and allows Caleb more room for better thrusts that feel like they reach far deeper than the others. He shifts his grip on Caleb’s shoulders and moves to just hug him close. Molly knows that eventually Hupperdook’s festivities outside will wind down and their friends will come trailing back in from celebrating a battle well-fought, but for now, this is their little patch of eternity all to themselves._

_“Oh, Mister Caleb,” Molly croons gently, panting harshly from exertion as another thrust nearly pulls him over the edge, “I have a feeling that even if you do ever lose me, I’ll always find my way back to you, dear heart. Always. And that’s a promise.”_

_Caleb’s eyes shine brightly in the semi-darkness of the room–_

–and he reaches in between them, his fingers finding it easy enough to just hook the flimsy white lace underneath Molly’s cock. Molly whimpers as Caleb’s slick fingers wrap around the neglected length firmly and stroke; and suddenly all Molly can taste is the fresh tang of a strawberry and the smell of hundreds of books fills his nose.

Molly can’t seem to remember where he put his tail; his mind is far too scattered and he’s but a hair’s breadth away from orgasm while also not nearly close enough. His hips are rocking up and he’s meeting Caleb’s thrusts, each time his prostate is hit it scatters a storm of pleasure up along his spine. Distantly, he can hear himself panting and whining as Caleb’s name tumbles from his lips like a mantra.

“Caleb,” he gasps, which is quickly followed up by a moan as Caleb’s teeth are suddenly at his neck again, “Caleb, gods, Caleb–I’m so… close–!”

He feels Caleb’s tears smearing salty wetness against his cheek as Caleb shudders and says right up against his ear, “I know, _schatz_ ,” before he resumes his thrusts in earnest. The hand around Molly’s cock also picks up the pace, and he becomes suddenly aware of his tail flailing against the scarlet fabric beneath him. His legs further tighten around Caleb’s waist and he is aware that he’s also crying again, though this time he’s not sure why, exactly–

_–though perhaps it’s because he’s not sure that they’ll ever see their friends again, and that even though this mad plan to catch up to their kidnappers seems doomed to fail…_

_Molly would be twice damned if he let anyone hurt any of his friends._

_He looks at Caleb sitting by the fire beside him, sees the wizard’s fear and apprehension in those bright blue eyes as mirrors of his own. He knows this plan is barely a plan, and that they really need more people or more time or some better combination of both, though none of them are patient enough for that sort of thing. Molly licks one thumb and reaches up to brush away a bit of dirt smudged on Caleb’s forehead._

_Something tells Molly that he needs to tell this man something terribly important, though for once, his words escape him. That is, until it finally hits him and he turns to Caleb again, grasping him desperately by the shoulders. His heartbeat spikes and his mouth goes dry but he still opens his mouth to try and say–_

“ _I told you that I would find you again, did I not?_ ” Molly whispers into Caleb’s ear.

His wizard’s eyes widen and Caleb gives one final thrust that whites out Molly’s vision again and has him finally tumbling over that edge, spilling forcefully into Caleb’s hand.

“Mollymauk,” Caleb moans weakly against his lips, and then he trembles once more before Molly feels the liquid heat of Caleb’s cum coat his insides. Caleb’s arms shake, and Molly moves to grab them before the wizard collapses. Molly helps Caleb to rest gently on his chest, and the pair of them lie there panting, sticky and sweaty but thoroughly sated.

It isn’t until Caleb finally moves to pull out, pressing a quick kiss to the tip of Molly’s nose, that Molly realizes just how very different that time had been from all of the others.

“Caleb?” he asks in a small voice.

That alone is enough to give Caleb pause, as he completely stops reaching for one of the nearby tissue boxes and sits back on his haunches. Caleb frowns, his eyes quickly scanning Molly’s body for injuries. “Molly? Have–have I hurt you?” Caleb asks, suddenly worried, and he reaches for Molly’s neck to try and examine the areas he’d abused there. “Why didn’t you say so, _schatz_?”

Molly laughs weakly and grasps Caleb’s wrists in his hands. “No, it’s–it’s not that, Caleb, I’m physically fine, but… I…” He hesitates, not sure how to describe the sensations that are now clearly distinct from his own, though at the time they felt just as real.

Suddenly Caleb’s face changes and he reaches for the tissues once more. Then he settles down on Molly’s right side and offers Molly the box for him to take one. There is a kind of patient softness in his expectant expression that tells Molly he knows exactly what Molly is going through.

“I saw it too,” Caleb tells him after a little while once they’re cleaned up a bit and are underneath the blankets. “Those moments of intimacy in the river, the tent. That shitty little room in Hupperdook.” Caleb chuckles, almost fond, but then he sighs and adds, “...the last night we shared a night’s watch together on the road.” Caleb swallows, and reaches over and takes one of Molly’s hands in his, smoothing his fingers against Molly’s tattoos and the bright flames of his soulmark.

“ _Ja_ , I saw them. Do you want to talk about it?”

Molly isn’t sure. He opens his mouth, then closes it again. Caleb simply continues to hold Molly’s hand while he waits.

Finally, Molly squeezes Caleb’s hand back and says, “As much as a part of me would very much like to _not_ talk about it… I think we should.” Molly frowns and looks up to meet Caleb’s eyes. “Whenever I’ve dreamed before, it’s always felt like me, in my own skin. This was… different. It felt important somehow.”

“Like the universe was trying to tell you something?” Caleb prodded gently.

Molly shook his head. “No, it felt like _I_ was trying to tell myself something. Only I don’t know what and it’s kind of scaring me.” He looked over at Caleb, who looked rather deep in thought at Molly’s words. “Caleb? Are you still with me?”

“You know,” Caleb began a bit haltingly, startling Molly enough that he jumped slightly as Caleb began speaking, “I don’t think the message was for you, _schatz_.”

“What do you mean?” Molly asked, hoping for clarification.

Caleb sighed, but sounding mildly frustrated, like he couldn’t quite find the words he was looking for. “It felt both like… a final goodbye and a fresh start all at once. Like a promise fulfilled coming full circle.” Caleb shifted so that he was more fully turned towards Molly and his words came faster and with increasing intensity.

“When you said that you would always find a way back to me, I could _feel_ the weight of that promise.” He was still clutching one of Molly’s hands in his, and Molly felt as though he was trying to impart something to Molly through touch alone. “Now I don’t know why that promise was special, but it was. I know it was, because when you repeated those words to me just not, it was like… like suddenly I’d found the last missing piece of a puzzle and it all just made _sense_.”

Molly watched Caleb with rapt attention, not even realizing that his unease had completely dissipated until he felt the familiar tingling in his soulmark and he realized that he was no longer afraid.

“Oh. _Oh_.” Was all Molly could manage to say in response.

Caleb laughed, and though Molly had heard him laugh what felt like a thousand times before already, this laugh was somehow the most beautiful sound that he’d ever heard.

“You see it now, don’t you?” Caleb reached up to one of Molly’s horns and ran his hand around the spiral and across the jewelry that was still affixed to it.

“Mollymauk Tealeaf; light and love of my life. I know now that in the vast chasm of space and time, fate has found us lucky enough to find each other again.” Caleb spotted Molly’s left hand and the ring that had remained there since he’d put it on hours ago. He reached for it, and now each of Molly’s hands was carefully cradled in one of Caleb’s. Caleb brought the engagement ring to his lips and kissed it, staring at Molly with his bright blue eyes full of a firm conviction.

“And this time,” Caleb continued with a tone of finality, “I am _not_ letting you go.”

“My darling, such wonderful, magical words you have,” Molly sighs, his chest filling with relief at Caleb’s words.

Caleb laughs, and replies in kind, “No, _schatz_. The only thing magical here… is you.”

They share one more kiss and eventually retire to bed, falling asleep in one another’s arms knowing that they will greet tomorrow and every morning thereafter… together, as the universe intended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't really have a reference for Molly's ring, but it's beautiful in my head, I promise. I did, however, find [this lingerie set](https://www.etsy.com/no-en/listing/559038529/bridal-lingerie-set-with-garter-belt) to give Molly to surprise Caleb with.
> 
> That said, I was initially going to draw a small art piece for each chapter, but as the chapter count grew, I decided to rethink that plan. So I drew this, and I've been so excited to share this with not only my giftee but the entire Widomauk discord. You're all lovely people and such wonderful friends. Thank you for being there these past couple of years, especially during those times when I was unemployed. It means a lot. 🥰

**Author's Note:**

> Fic title and song lyrics both belong to [What Have We Found Ourselves In](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Shz5rsQevoU) by Jess Ray.
> 
> I occasionally tweet [here](https://twitter.com/TimeSorceror), tumble [here](https://timesorceror.tumblr.com/), and if you like my art, you can support me [here](https://www.patreon.com/TimeSorceror) and buy me Kofis [here](https://ko-fi.com/timesorceror)! However, I **_mostly_** hang out in the Discord that helped make this work possible, the Widomauk Pit. If you're interested in joining us whilst we lose our collective heads over the current state of CR affairs, hit me up and I can toss you a line.


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